Unconventional
by BriarBlanca
Summary: Jovilette Valentine is a quirky and feisty woman but when she is set up on a blind date with Clark Kent, she gets pulled into a relationship she never expected. This story more or less focuses on Clark rather than Superman, but no worries Big Blue's still acknowledged. I hope you guys enjoy and feedback is always welcome! Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

The wind in Metropolis always made me seriously question my sanity. I hurried along the streets, clutching my skirt to my thighs as I slipped inside the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. I glanced down at my watch as I hurried along the hallways that I knew so well. Crap. Five minutes late. I wasn't even paying attention as to where I was going. I hit a solid brick wall, or at least that's what he felt like.

"Oh god, sorry I am so clumsy. Please forgive me." I stuttered that last sentence as I looked up to see my blind date. He was gorgeous, and a giant, which was exactly my type. He had black hair, stunning blue eyes as clear as the ocean in the Bahamas that were disguised behind big black-rimmed glasses, and the body that could completely cover me in the middle of the night in my new queen bed. I shook my head to get the dirty thoughts out of my head. But the best of all was his smile that was already wiggling it's way into my anti-feelings heart.

"It's no problem. You're Jovilette right? Jovilette Valentine?" He was smiling gently as he led the way to the back of the museum.

"Uhhh, yeah. I hope you're Clark Kent. Otherwise this is pretty awkward and a little creepy." He chuckled at that and nodded his head. I smiled in relief and followed him as we started our date. "I'm sorry for running into you like that. I'm not normally clumsy I promise." He winced at that.

"It's alright Jovilette, I'm actually pretty clumsy myself. Hope you don't mind that."

"Oh no! It's fine. Being clumsy isn't exactly a bad thing. I mean it keeps things interesting right? One time I was late for work and decided to get my boss a cup of coffee to butter him up and I actually ended up spilling it on him. It was pretty bad and I should have been fired and I'm glad I wasn't. The only reason he didn't fire me was because I was his second best researcher at the lab and fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he left to go to another facility." I bit my bottom lip to stop rambling myself into oblivion. This was so embarrassing. So I'm not the smoothest individual, it was okay, I never promised anyone I was anyways. Thankfully Clark let my rambling go past.

"Lois mentioned that you were a zoologist. What exactly do you do?"

"I work at the Metropolis Zoo and I am studying the new breed of tiger that they brought in. It's actually a cross between the albino male tiger and the female Liger. There's hardly any research on it and they needed help recording data on the rare species. Even though they can't breed in the wild and that kind of animal would never survive out there, it's still interesting to learn about both the tigers and lions and the heritage and genes. I'm a pretty big nerd. I apologize. How is being a journalist?"

"That seems fascinating. I love animals so I could see where that would be a fun job. My job is all right, the pay isn't that great but it's nice to know that I'm writing about a lot of things that most people wouldn't even touch. Plus I get to meet a lot of new people and explore new regions of the world I wouldn't be able to in any other job."

I smiled up at him and we walked throughout the museum and making little comments about the exhibits and the stunning pieces of art that were on the walls. I came here all the time by myself. I made sure to pretend that I had no idea what any of it was, especially when I had probably read each little description fifty times. I loved being able to go back in time through fossils and seeing things through other people's eyes.

This was a great date and for once I was heartbroken it was ending. He seemed to have the same feeling because he stopped before the doors of the exit and asked, "I know a great place, are you hungry?" I just smiled and nodded. I weaved my arm through his and stepped a little closer to him. I don't know if he was comfortable with it but he had to get my message loud and clear, which was- 'you're the first successful date I've had in months, I'm not letting you go.'

We walked several blocks over and went into a little hole in the wall restaurant. The waiter obviously knew Clark so he sat us in a booth in the back where we wouldn't be disturbed and gave us our simple menus.

"I wish I would have known you were famous." My voice was lowered just a little bit as I leaned across the table.

"Wha-what?" He stammered and his face began to get red.

"Come on. You're known at this restaurant, plus your good looks, are you some sort of football player that was just recruited?" He shook his head and smiled. "Rugby maybe?" Again, he shook his head. "Actor?" He shook his head once more.

"I told you I'm just a journalist. I just go to this restaurant a lot. Perhaps I go here too much actually. I'm flattered that you would think so highly of me though." He smirked and looked down at his menu.

"What can you expect? You've got the body for a professional football player and the looks of an actor, even though you try to hide it."

"Um I don't really know what to say. Thank you, I guess? So tell me a little bit about yourself that the newshound Lois Lane wouldn't know or be able to tell me." He folded his hands underneath his chin and leaned forward. What a man.

"That's a good question. Well I was found on the doorstep of a hospital and I was in foster care until the age of eight. Luckily I had a couple that adopted me. My mom is a veterinarian and my father was a fire fighter. I grew up in a household full of animals and I wanted to become a vet like my mom but I couldn't stand the things she had to do at work so I thought maybe researching the animals would be a better route. Plus I love science in general so any other option was out. I love to run and go ice-skating. I hate the color yellow; don't ask me why because I'm not really sure. My favorite drink is raspberry iced tea and I draw silly cartoon doodles when I don't pay attention. My goal in life is to get close enough to a great white shark to swim right alongside it. What about you?"

"Well I grew up on a small farm in Kansas, in a town called Smallville. My parents also adopted me even though I've been with them almost since birth. I have always wanted to be a journalist but I knew I could never accomplish much in my life in Kansas, so I came here. I love horses and am incredibly empathetic. My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and football. I don't think I have anything specific I want to do before I die, I just want to help as many people as I can."

I leaned across the table and whispered: "Isn't there something you've always wanted to do. That was just for you? Sometimes it's okay to be the only one to benefit from your actions."

"Well I have always wanted to climb the pyramids in Egypt. Wait you said your father was a firefighter? Did he retire?" I leaned back and pulled my hand away. I was hoping he didn't catch that part.

"He actually died saving a family in an apartment complex when I was fifteen."

"I'm so sorry Jovilette. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright. It's part of who I am and I will always love him. He was a good man." Luckily the waiter interrupted us before I had a chance to say anything else and took our orders. Once he left I decided to change the topic again.

We talked about everything from this year's football season to the work we both had done up until now. Dinner flew by and I knew when the check came that I had to see Clark again. Whether he wanted to see me again remained to be seen. Clark graciously paid for my meal and we left arm in arm again and I rested my head against his arm since his shoulder was out of my reach. We reached my apartment and I stood on the doorstep with my keys still remaining in my jacket pocket, hoping he would get the hint.

"I had a lovely time with you Jovilette. Thanks for the charming evening. I would love nothing more than to see you again." I beamed up at him.

"Me either. I mean I would love to see you again too. You have my number still right?"

"Yes I do. Well goodnight." He smiled at me and began to turn when my hand flew out to his arm and brought him back towards me. I grabbed his collar of his jacket and pulled him down towards me. I knew he wasn't expecting that so his hands dug hard into my hips as my lips found his. At first his lips were hard against mine but after a second he mellowed out and our lips moved slowly against one another's. It wasn't a long one but it was definitely a good first kiss. He pulled back after a minute and I slowly let go of his collar. He smiled down at me and swiftly kissed my forehead. I think I turned into a puddle of mush on my doorstep after that. I hardly caught him saying goodnight for a second time before leaving my stoop. I banged my head against the door to the complex and sighed as I let myself in.

That was it. I was a goner. I was in love on the first date! Well not really but man was he a charmer. I had to see him again. And I was going to be dying by the time he decided to call me. I knew Clark was a gentleman and probably wouldn't wait long but still even if it was a day's wait, it was still too long. I couldn't let a man like that escape my grasp.


	2. Chapter 2

"So Clark, how did Miss Valentine treat you?" Lois's voice pulled Clark out of his mental cloud. He had expected the blind date to be a flop but now that it wasn't, he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"It actually went really well. A little too well now that I think about it. She's pretty funny and really down to earth." He smiled up at Lois who had her eyes narrowed at him.

"Oh no you don't. You don't get to bow out now! The first successful date you've been on in God knows how long and now you don't want to deal with the commitment! Incredible. I can't believe you!"

"Calm down Lois. It has just been so long since I have been serious with anyone. I'm not really sure how to do this. I'm nervous, okay? I don't even know if I have time to commit to a relationship." Lois softened her expression to just a frown.

"Clark, it's okay to be a little scared. I get that you're a country bumpkin and don't know how to deal with girls from the big city. You don't have a life outside this office so I say you have plenty of time to deal with Jo. She doesn't even need much. Just give her a chance." Lois gave Clark the puppy dog eyes he hated and submitted and promised Lois he would still pursue Jovilette. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. Who was texting him at work? He was somewhat dreading the thought of it being Bruce, there was no way he was in the mood to go fight crime right now.

"I know this is against all the dating rules, but I just HAD to communicate with you…" Clark smirked at the message Jovilette sent him and replied:

"I think the dating police are actually on their way to arrest you right now. I'm pretty sure I can hear their sirens throughout the streets." Flirting like this was so unlike Clark so it was fun to be outside the box.

"Well there goes my afternoon, hey after I escape jail would you want to join me in some secret runaway ice cream?"

"As long as I am not arrested for being your accomplice. Ice cream sounds great, where at?"

"Right outside the park. There's a great vender that sells homemade ice cream. Pretty sure I gain five pounds just looking at it." Clark barked out laughter and everyone in the office just stopped what they were doing and stared at him like he grew another head. Clark wasn't exactly known as someone who laughed; it was usually Superman who had to lighten the mood, especially within the company of Batman.

Clark ducked his head and pretended to look at his computer screen again. He sent another quick text back.

"When do you want to meet?" He smiled at the thought of seeing her again. She was a new experience so it was nice.

"How about seven? I'm staying late to work on a project at work but I can definitely be there by then. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds good. Can't wait to meet you then. " Clark was in trouble. Women were trouble. Superman couldn't afford any weaknesses right now. He moaned and put his head on his desk.

"What's up CK?!" Jimmy scared Clark so badly Clark jumped a couple inches in his chair. "Woah, what's going on with you?"

"Girl troubles."

"Jeeze, I thought that only happened in middle school." Clark glared at Jimmy and Jimmy put up his hands in all innocence. "Okay, what's bothering you big guy?"

"I don't think I can date anyone right now and I had a really good blind date last night."

"Hmmmm, date her. You're probably really lonely Clark, I say do it. Go after her."

"Gee, thanks Jimmy. What would I do without you?" The sarcasm heavily dripped in Clark's voice.

"Wait what's her name? Name's tell a lot about people."

"Her name is Jovilette Valentine."

"Exotic. I like it. I want to see a picture of her." Jimmy pleaded at Clark and Clark turned to his computer and logged into Facebook. This was probably so creepy but he didn't care. He found her Facebook and showed Jimmy some of her pictures.

"Wow she's a looker alright. How did you manage to snag that one?"

"Actually, Lois set it up."

"Even weirder. Well she's definitely a catch. Congrats to you buddy. Please keep her. At least long enough for me to get a glimpse of her in person." Jimmy smirked and walked off leaving Clark to look at Jovilette's Facebook page.

She had a square face but some pretty wide cheekbones that stuck out from her tan skin. Her freckles danced across her face and her green eyes that resembled the color of a deep forest were striking. Her long dark chocolate colored hair framed her face perfectly. She was so beautiful but in a striking, exotic way. And the funny thing was she didn't act like she knew it. She could have easily been a model but there she was hiding her beauty in a lab where hardly anyone got to see it. But what attracted Clark most to him was the fact that she was so down to earth. She was relatable and wasn't afraid to mess up in front of people or say the incorrect thing. She knew how to make him laugh and time passed so fast when he was with her. Clark automatically shut down Facebook when he realized just how much he was analyzing her from their first date.

"Get a grip Clark." He had to whisper to himself to make himself focus on his work again.

…

Two months later

"When were you going to tell me about her?" Batman stood right beside him on the rooftop in Gotham, they had just finished rounding up all the villains that broke out of Arkham Asylum.

"About who?" Superman winced as he figured Bruce would know the answer.

"You know damn well who. Playing dumb doesn't suit you Clark."

"It's only been two months. Why are you so worried?"

"Because I thought you didn't do the dating thing." Batman said blandly. Superman knew he was raising his eyebrows at him. He just shrugged.

"I didn't. But she's a breath of fresh air. It's been so long since I've felt happiness like this. It's new and it's fun, please don't try and change my mind."

Batman just crossed his arms on his chest and stared at him for what felt like an eternity.

"Fine. I won't. But I just think she deserves the truth and you can't give it to her. That's not exactly the best way to start a relationship."

"Bruce, I hardly think you're the one to talk about relationships, considering your predicament. You're always running around with the bad girls. At least mine is normal. And for once she likes Clark instead of Superman. She hasn't said a damn word about Superman. I know a lot of women just have to talk about him. I can take care of myself. It's fine don't worry about me. Speaking of your bad girls, your cat just shimmied her way into the jewelry store on ninth. Do you have this?"

Batman just shot out his grappling hook and disappeared into the streets. Superman shook his head and flew back to Metropolis. Curiosity getting the better of him, he flew towards the apartment that Jo was living in. This was a huge no-no but he couldn't stop himself. He used his x-ray vision to see through the sidewall, where he wouldn't be seen. She was dancing around in her yoga pants and tank top and singing with her iPod playing music.

"Uh-oh, now he's got you

Right where he thinks you belong.

Did he bite you on the neck

Right before the job was done?

And does he ask about your mama?

Does he sing your song when you get mad?

Well, I been there, done that many times

And all the kicking and the screaming won't bring him back."

Superman chuckled at her antics and realized at that moment he wanted her to be his girlfriend. Just before he could think of how he wanted to ask her, he heard her scream. A man had forced himself into her apartment and had a gun pointed at her. Clark's heart dropped to his stomach. He was flying towards her open window but was shocked to see what happened before his eyes.

Jovilette had grabbed the gun out of the man's hand and twisted his wrist so he was forced to drop it. She used her other elbow to hit him in the face and swept her right leg to make him unbalanced and fall to the floor. She punched him in the face for good measure. Once she knew he was incapacitated she tucked his gun in the back of her pants and went to look for something to tie him up with. Superman was already in her apartment before she came back.

"Jesus! I know you're a hero and everything but do you have to seriously do a B and E?" Superman grinned at her frankness. Of course this was how she would treat him.

"I was just flying back from Gotham when I heard the commotion. How did you know to do that? I wouldn't have stopped if I had thought you could take care of it."

"I took some Krav Maga a couple of years ago. I reached my brown belt so I couldn't advance anymore but I still went to the beginner classes for the exercise. I almost forgot all the moves to neutralize someone with a gun so I just went on natural instinct to attack… oops." Superman just chuckled at her and picked up the thief from her apartment.

"Have a good evening ma'am." He smiled at the thought of having such a feisty girl. Even though it scares him that she would attack someone with a fire weapon, he was glad she could take care of himself. Now, how to ask her to be his girlfriend…


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **I really appreciate the feedback I have gotten from this story. I'm mad because my email automatically labeled the Fanfiction emails as spam. Anyways, as you could probably tell this will be more of a Clark Kent story than a Superman story but don't worry he'll still be in there. Also I'm going to throw in a few surprises from the DCU. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I will try and upload the next chapter as soon as I can. Enjoy!

* * *

"Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" The question slipped out of my mouth before it even was finished in my brain.

"Actually that was why I was bringing you tonight to the ice skating rink was so that I could ask you to be my girlfriend." Clark looked sheepishly at me and I started laughing.

"Clark you didn't need to do anything special to ask me that question. We're both adults. This isn't exactly high school." I pulled him down for a quick kiss. "Ready to fall on your ass?"

"I'm actually pretty good at ice skating. Aren't you?"

"Nope. I'm pretty terrible at it actually."

"But I thought you said you liked ice skating?" He looked confused, as would most people.

"I do. Even though I'm terrible at something, doesn't mean I can't like it." I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the giant ice skating rink in the middle of the park. I was glad it was wintertime because I have always wanted to do this on a date. Clark tugged on my hands so that I was following slowly behind him.

"You know you can move your feet and step like you do roller blades." He smirked at me and kept pulling as he was skating backwards.

"How are you so good at this?"

"I was on a hockey team when I was little. Once you master it, it's like riding a bike. You never really forget how to do it."

"Hmmm well I'm glad I have you with me. So Mr. Kent, what are you doing tonight?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him and I think he completely missed my innuendo because he just shrugged.

"Nothing. Why?" He asked as he expertly guided us around another couple struggling.

"Want to come over and watch a movie with me? It's a scary one and I don't exactly feel like watching it by myself. I have popcorn!" It had been two and a half months since we had been seeing each other and to say that I was going through a dry spell was an understatement. One-night stands we're becoming my style as of late but I hadn't had one in almost six months. I was struggling.

"Sounds fun. What's the movie?"

"Last chance. It's about a man who becomes obsessed with finding paranormal things and unfortunately finds one. I think he finds demons or something. I don't know the trailer looked scary."

"Interesting. Trust me okay?" Before I could ask why he picked me up and I started squealing. I had definitely not expected that. I'm pretty sure I left some marks on his skin and I looked down at him and he was beaming up at me. This man definitely had some confidence in his ice skating abilities. He put me down gently but unfortunately my feet failed me and I collapsed right onto the hard ice. An attractive "oooof!" came out of my mouth. I'm also sure I turned twenty shades of red.

Clark immediately stopped and picked me up and we resumed skating. I don't know how long we spent on the ice but the circles we were making were never ending. But after a while my legs gave out on me and I fell flat on my ass.

"Had enough ice for one night?" He cheekily asked.

"Very funny Clark. Yeah I've had enough, so want to come over?"

"Yeah." He had a funny look on his face when he turned around and I was starting to seriously doubt my decision to invite him over. I handed my skates over and the walk back to my apartment was a quiet one but the silence was welcomed. I opened the door back to my apartment and my dog, Cobalt, which was a grey Great Dane came crashing into me and sent me flying into Clark. He just started laughing as the dog was giving him kisses on the cheek.

"Gross Cobalt. Down!" He reluctantly obeyed me and wagged his tail. I took out one of his treats and gave it to him. Clark and I made our way to the couch and I popped the movie into the DVD player. Luckily I had just upgraded my TV to a giant flat screen. Clark was already sitting on the edge of the couch and I grabbed one of the cozy blankets off my bed and came and cuddled right into Clark's side. I mentally sighed as he wrapped his arm around me and kissed my head.

As the movie progressed, and the scarier it got, I burrowed further into Clark and the blanket rose higher onto my face. Clark would chuckle whenever I got closer and wrapped his arms tighter around me. There were some jump scares that even got him and by the time the movie was over, I knew he was at least a little scared.

"Come on you were terrified. Just admit it. No need to play the brave man here, that's a scary movie." I told him. My grip on him hadn't lessened and the space between us definitely didn't dissolve.

"It wasn't that bad. Some parts did get me though. I'll admit it was one of the scarier movies I've seen as of late."

"Yeah, yeah you don't get scared. It's okay to be a little scared, you know?"

"I know. I just get scared differently than you do."

"Really? Like how?" Was this too personal? I wasn't sure.

"I don't know. I'm scared of losing my parents. I'm scared that I might not make a mark in the world like I want to. I'm scared that I won't be happy in life."

"Those are things everyone's scared of Clark." I leaned over and kissed him. He put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me closer. His lips were soft against mine and his breathing through his nose was a weird turn on. I crawled over and straddled his lap. His hands moved up and down my torso as my hands pushed through his silky hair. My tongue tasted his bottom lip and he willingly opened his mouth for me. His hands leisurely made their under my shirt. My breaths became shallow and quick and I urged his hands to go further up but they held their position. My heart was racing and sweat was already forming on my skin. His thumbs were making my head dizzy just by creating circles on my hips. He suddenly pulled away and looked at me dazed.

"Jo I'm so sorry this can't go any further right now."

"Wha-what?" I stuttered. My fuzzy brain couldn't wrap around the words flowing out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to go. It was a lovely date tonight and thank you for being with me but I should leave." I watched him pick up his stuff and give me a small smile as he exited through the door. I'm pretty sure I still looked like an idiot because my mouth was still hanging open. Did my boyfriend just reject me? Did that really just happen? I was so confused. I groaned as I got up and threw myself onto the bed and buried myself under the deep comforter, trying to forget this embarrassing situation.

...

Days passed and I didn't hear a word from Clark. I was starting to get really embarrassed. I wondered if I had awful smelling breath or did something embarrassing and I just didn't notice it. I groaned and put my hands to my face as I tried to scrub the embarrassing moment out of my mind. My cell phone beeped and I looked down to find a message from Clark asking to see me tonight. I replied yes without hesitation, I wanted to know what happened. The suspense was killing me, I had a great thing going and I blew it completely.

But then I started to wonder if it wasn't me that did something. Was he trying to save his virginity until marriage? Maybe he had some sort of disease that he was embarrassed about. I shook my head because I knew Clark wouldn't have anything like that but I could see him saving his virginity until marriage, even though he's in his late twenties…

Work never went by so slow. I stared down that damned clock willing time to go faster but alas I was only a mere human, not some time wizard. When it became five o'clock I bounded out of the zoo and made my way home. I flew through my apartment and picked up every little piece of trash and article of clothing I could find. I was moving so fast that Cobalt went and hid under my bed. He was a big baby anyways.

The knock on the door pulled me out of my cleaning/anxiety spree and I opened it with the best smile I could manage. He held up a giant bouquet of flowers and brought over a bottle of wine.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting this."

"Yeah well it was an apology for the other night, look Jovilette…" He started.

"Clark I'm going to be completely honest with you, what happened the other night shocked the hell out of me but I just want to know two things and I won't ask a single question after you answer them."

"Okay what are your two questions." He asked nervously.

"First of all is this going to be a repeat occurrence?" I looked him dead in the eyes. "Don't lie to me either."

"Look I really enjoy being with you," My heart dropped, "but I won't be able to have sex with you, at least not for a while." I nodded my head and was relieved he wasn't dumping me. "What's the second question?"

"I'm assuming it has nothing to do with me? I didn't do anything to put you off right?" Clark must have seen the doubt in my eyes and he just wrapped me into his arms flowers and wine included. I felt his lips on my head.

"Jovilette it's going to be incredibly hard to keep my hands off of you. No, you didn't do anything to turn me off if anything I wasn't used to being that turned on." I laughed and he did too and it was nice being like this. "I can understand if you don't want to do this anymore because of me and my choice but if you want to stay with me then I will make what we have worth it, I promise." His arms tightened around me and I sighed.

"You know sex is a really important part of relationship." I said quietly. "However, if you don't have sex with the right person, it's incredibly awful. I can handle not being able to have sex. I'll wait for you. But you better keep your promise; I mean you're really going to have to sweeten the deal for me." I added jokingly. "I respect your wishes because if the roles were reversed I would want you to respect my decision as well. I'm glad I was able to meet you Clark." I smiled up at him and he leaned down to kiss me on the lips. "Good thing we can still kiss otherwise I would have to say: no deal." He chuckled and I stepped out of his arms to pour our glasses of wine and put the flowers into a vase.

"You don't have any other questions?" He asked me doubtfully.

"I'm not going to ask any questions because I trust you. I don't need to know. If you don't want to have sex, I respect you and your privacy." I shrugged and he looked at me incredulously. Uncertainty flickered across his features so quickly, I could have been wrong.

"Wow I was expecting a flood of questions. I really am a lucky man."

"You're going to keep being disappointed because I definitely am not a normal woman, I'm extremely weird."

"Good thing I like weird."

"Okay now you're just being a pervert. Come on Clark let's watch this movie. Good thing we picked a sad movie this time, be ready for me to start crying." He smiled at me and my heart soared. I couldn't believe I agreed to a relationship with no sex, but I couldn't imagine not being with this man. He was everything I was looking for and all relationships have a hitch in them and ours was going to be no different. I just wished I wouldn't push him to do something he didn't want to do. I was really going to have to keep my hands to myself. This was going to be a challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

I brought my muffins and our favorite bottle of wine and I stood on the doorstep and took a deep breath. I moved the wine to my other hand and I knocked on the red door. A woman in her late fifties, with white hair, freckles, blue eyes, and pale skin opened the door and looked at me skeptically.

"You're late, as usual. What's with those clothes?" She snatched the bottle of wine from my hand and I just shook my head at her.

"Hey be nice. Of course I was running late, the line to get this friggin bottle of wine was absurd. Leave me alone about the clothes, you're just not catching up with the times in fashion." She stepped aside and let me in. Once she poured our glasses and snacked on a muffin she was in a much better mood. She sauntered over to me on the couch and wrapped her arms around me. She smelled of lilacs and vanilla.

"Did you know that boy Jared that you went to elementary school with got arrested for homicide?" She asked me in horror.

"No, Ma, I didn't. How the hell do you know that?" I asked incredulously. This woman could do faster research than the FBI.

"I've been in this damn neighborhood for forty years, do you really think I wouldn't know who did what?" She took another bite of her muffin and scoffed at me.

"That's very true. Look I have something to tell you."

"Please don't tell me you murdered your boss. I know you hate him but this old woman isn't strong enough to carry a dead body anywhere. I mean I can try but I recommend you call someone else." The words just came out of her mouth as if they were the most natural things in the world. I wasn't surprised in the least that she said something like that. She was my mother after all.

"What? No. I would like to murder him but sadly I'm not willing to go to jail just yet. No, I have a boyfriend now."

"Personally, I would have preferred the murder over this. What's so exciting about a new boyfriend?" I slapped my hand to my forehead.

"Well because we have been dating for four months and it's one of those relationships that's flawless." She just stared at me like an idiot.

"Honey there is no such thing as a flawless relationship."

"I know that's why I'm telling you." I stared right back at her to make sure she got my point.

"Well I'll be damned. For once you're not dating a loser. I'm just teasing you honey. When are you going to bring him to me so I can give him the true test?"

"Um, I'm not sure. He's really busy and I'll have to talk to him about it but I'm not quite sure. I'll give you a word in advance though." She nodded her head in agreement.

"So, what's he like? What does he do? At least give me his name so I can do some research."

"That's not really necessary considering you might know who he is already. His name is Clark Kent." My mother was gaping at me.

"Are you telling me you're dating one of the more famous journalists of Metropolis? The one that works at THE Daily Planet?"

"Yeah that's the one."

"Wow you really got a catch there. It's not like I'm surprised that you caught him, but it's surprising that he's not like the others you brought back here to me. With the rockers, the tattoo artists, and that meathead football player it's kind of hard to imagine you dating a sensible man. Good for you Jo, I'm proud of you. I've seen pictures of him and he's a looker. How's the sex?" My face heated up and I turned beet red.

"Ma…" The warning was clear in my voice.

"Oh come on you used to brag all the time with the other ones, now I can't hear about one I would actually like?"

"No, you can't."

"Why not?" I didn't want to tell her but I knew she wouldn't let up.

"We haven't had sex."

"WHAT? What is he gay? Has he seen your nice breasts? You got those from me you know."  
"Yes Ma, I know. I don't know why he won't and I'm not asking. He just said he wants to but he can't. I'm not questioning it. And he is not gay." She took a big gulp of her wine and held my hand.

"Fine. If you like him that much and are willing to go without making the whoopee, I guess that's fine. Just make sure your needs get satisfied one way or the other. God gave you fingers for a reason, dear." I threw my hands over my ears.

"Ugh! My god, would you stop it? You have gotten incredibly vulgar, what has gotten into you?" I was officially humiliated.

"The neighbor Lawrence, that's who. He used to be a mechanic. He's dirty in every kind of way and I enjoy it." I couldn't help but bust up laughing at that. My mother was in no way the ordinary old lady. She wasn't even an old lady but she was getting there.

I sat there and observed my mom and I couldn't have imagined going through the foster system any longer than I had to. I couldn't imagine her and my father not raising me. I learned so many life lessons from them and the hardships they had to endure. My mother was originally from Ireland but she moved here when she was six with my grandparents. Even though it was only the sixties, she had to withstand a lot of discrimination. My father was just a firefighter and he met her when he was twenty and she was nineteen. The funny part is that she met him when she was engaged to another man when my dad went and stopped a fire in her apartment building.

She realized she wasn't going to be happy in the marriage so she broke up the engagement and two weeks later she ran into my father at a bar. They were attached to each other from that moment on. My parents truly were the representation of true love. He always watched sappy love movies with her every Wednesday night and gave her flowers every Saturday morning. Even though he worked all the time, he always made sure to pay special attention to her and made sure she was loved. I always thought my dad put in more effort into their relationship than my mom but one day when I was fourteen I noticed I was wrong.

I was getting ready to leave for school and I saw my mom place my dad's slippers right before the front door and lay the newspaper on the table. She had the coffee all ready to brew and she made sure to put his favorite muffins on the table as well. He was coming home from the station and she had everything he needed right there for him. It was than that I realized that my mom just took a more subtle approach to show my father how much she cared and loved him.

I had always wanted to love someone like how my parents loved each other. But when my father passed away in a raging fire in an old building, I swore off men for a long time. When we received the news I was at school and my mother was at home. But when I was home my mom treated everything like normal. She never had teary eyes or even a quivering lip. She put on a smile for me and comforted me whenever I cried but when it was nighttime and my mom thought I was asleep I could hear her howling and sobbing into her pillow. I loved my mom and I wanted to comfort her but I knew that the reason she put on an act was all for me. She wanted me to be her number one priority and she didn't want me to see how much she was hurting, in fear of hurting me even more, so I never went to comfort her. I did give her more hugs though when I came home from school.

I never really got out of my rebellious stage when I was in high school. I always dated the losers, clearly the ones all moms warn their daughters about. But for some reason I never listened to anyone's advice. I got cheated on, lied to, abandoned, and one time a guy made the mistake of hitting me. I made his life a living hell after that. I was treated like dirt in my teens and my early twenties. I don't know why but the image of the bad boy was just something I couldn't let go. It wasn't until after the guy I dated hit me that I quit them all cold turkey. Then I dated guys that looked like bad boys but weren't.

Never have I been in a relationship with a guy like Clark. This was completely new territory and I felt like it was a ticking time bomb. Any minute now reality would spring up on me and he would realize how loath-worthy I was in a relationship. There was a quote that went something along the lines of: If you keep looking up at the piano above you and waiting for it to fall, then you will never notice the pothole in front of you. That was what I kept trying to say to myself but for some reason it never quite stuck. I was just nervous for the future.

"Jovilette, have you been listening to anything I've been saying?"

"Yes Ma, I heard it all. The last thing you said was how that wench Martha stole your garden gnome and had the gall to place it in her flower bed."

"Okay good, you were making weird faces for a while." I laughed internally because in reality I had only been half listening.

"Oh sorry about that. I should probably get back though. I told Clark we could go to dinner tonight. Anyways I'm so glad I was able to see you. I missed you. Come over soon and see Cobalt, that little bugger misses you. I'll call you soon and let you know when I'm bringing Clark over for his sake he doesn't really have a choice." We laughed and she hugged me goodbye. As I was walking to the street all I could think of was how Clark was going to react to my mom. The poor boy was doomed.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing I noticed was how cold my sheets were. My head obviously wasn't on Clark's chest anymore and I flung my arm over to the other side of the bed and nothing. Nada. Where the hell was he? I sat up and squinted. I couldn't see him. No shower was on. I rolled to the other side of the bed and looked at the floor. No clothes. I started to panic just a little bit. It was Saturday so he didn't have to work. I frowned. He had spent the night and we did strictly platonic activities but that didn't really bother me because I could still sleep with him in my bed at the end of the day. There was no other feeling like being wrapped up in his arms. Where was my boyfriend?

I got out of the bed and put on one of my lounge t-shirts that was three times my size. I hated wearing pants. It was weird because I searched all over the apartment and couldn't find a sign of him. After a minute I took a steady breath and headed to the bathroom to shower. The hot water left goose bumps on my skin and I gladly welcomed the heat. It was so hot my skin was turning red. I just washed myself in the shower while turning my mind off.

"Jovilette?" I screamed and my back hit the shower wall. I was scrambling as I heard movement outside the doorway. "Hey it's me. I went and got some breakfast. I didn't see a coffeemaker so I thought you could use some. Sorry, I tried to get back before you awoke, but it seems I failed."

"Clark that isn't okay at all! Don't scare me like that again. Thank you for breakfast though, I will be right out." A victory smile came upon my face as I realized I was just being insecure. Of course Clark wouldn't leave me like that. He was too much of a gentleman to do such a thing. I turned off the shower and stepped into my silk pink robe. I put my hair up in a clip and sauntered out to greet my newly titled boyfriend. He was sitting at the island and reading the newspaper. I wrapped my arms around his neck and peered over the top of his head.

"'Superman saves train from crashing.' I didn't know you were such a Superman fan." He closed the paper and turned around to look at me.

"I admire the man for doing things other people can't. What's not to like about the hero?"

"Do you think him and Batman are friends? I heard they have worked together before. That's pretty weird. Lois says Supes is an all-together gentleman and as bright as sunshine where the Batman is, well, obviously dark. I would love to see how they work together." Clark didn't really reply just took another sip of his coffee. "I wonder if him and Wonder Woman are banging." Clark sputtered his coffee all over the newspaper.

"Darn." He went up to get a washcloth to wash the coffee off of his shirt and table.

"No need to overreact, it's just a curious thought. Everyone has wondered that, I mean they wear matching outfits, it's like they were made for each other." I was pondering out loud.

"Um Jo you do realize that Wonder Woman is in a relationship right?"

"Yeah with that Colonel Steve Trevor, I don't know. For all we know it could be a fake relationship."

"You really think a woman with a lasso that makes people tell the truth would allow her to be in a false relationship?" I scratched my neck.

"Well you do have a point, alright so they're not freaking in the sheets. It's a good hypothesis though."

"You didn't really have any evidence to back up that claim, Miss Scientist."

"Okay now you're just sounding like my boss.

"Sorry. So what should we do today?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. Oh by the way my mom wants to meet you."

"She does?" I nodded my head and looked at him expectantly. "Okay, well when do you want to go over there?"

"Today?" I made a some-what apologetic face towards him.

"Oh wow, okay we can go today I guess. Meeting your mom huh? From what I hear she's exactly like you, and I don't think I can handle two Jos at the same time." He said jokingly.

"Trust me she's worst than I am."

"Aren't you supposed to be selling me on going over to meet your mom instead of discouraging me?"

"Don't you want to meet my mom?" I acted sad.

"I do I'm just teasing you. Let's go meet your mom. Does she like wine or champagne?"

"She loves this one wine we can get it on our way there and if you buy her chocolate truffles you will be her favorite person ever." Clark laughed and he went to the bathroom to go shower. I sat there going over the future possibilities that could happen but the most possible outcome was that my mom would be smitten with Clark so much that she would fight me for him, or at least jokingly say something along those lines. I went into the bedroom to go get dressed and I saw a shirtless Clark walking around and drool started dripping down my neck. Disgust is what should have gone through my mind but I couldn't even register a single thought because a shirtless Clark was something dreams were made of. His back muscles were perfectly defined, as well as his triceps, shoulders, and any other muscle I could see. They were flexing as he was walking back into the door and when he closed the door I'm pretty sure a squeak came out of my mouth. I should probably close my mouth before I flood my entire apartment. Cobalt walked up to me and then looked at me in disgust, or so I thought.

I went into the closet and pulled out a nice plum colored dress and slipped it on. I waited for Clark to get out of the shower as I sat on my bed. I was hoping he would come back out wearing just a towel around his hips. Maybe I was being a pervert, but we had been dating for some time and we hadn't had sex but surely it was okay to see him without a shirt, right? I couldn't believe this was the first time I had seen him shirtless, man I missed out. All of a sudden the shower turned off and I sat there like a kid on Christmas waiting to open my present. The click of the door made my eyes zero in on the target and…. he had his shirt on. I lay back onto the bed and sighed. I'll have to catch another chance at that rare moment.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He laughed and I clung onto his arm as we left the apartment.

We went to the special liquor store to pick up my mother's favorite wine and knowing Clark like I did, he picked her up some truffles. As we were on our way there I had to ask.

"Do your parents know about me?" Clark pushed up his glasses as he carefully picked his words.

"No, I was going to wait a little while longer until I did. But since you sprang this meeting with your mom on me I guess I'll give my ma a call soon." I nodded at that.

"That's funny that you call your mom, ma too." He laughed and put his arm around my shoulder as we were almost there. We pulled up in front of her house and I could tell Clark was nervous. I put a hand on his forearm to let him know it would be fine. We got out of the cab and made our way up to her doorsteps and before we even had a chance to knock she threw open the door.

"My, my what a catch Jo!" She laughed and enveloped me in a hug and then him in a hug. She stepped back and her eyes widened in amazement. "You brought my favorite wine and truffles! I'm Lyla and you must be the famous Clark Kent, come on in, come on in! I just put the kettle on so we could have tea but if you guys want some wine we can crack that open right now! Clark shrugged and I replied.

"Sure Ma let's have some wine." I added, "Lord knows I'll need it." She just laughed as we made out way over to the couches. Clark and I took the love seat and mom just took the single chair that was aimed at the love seat.

"Clark, since Jo's dad isn't around anymore I'm going to have to play the role of the father figure as well." I groaned in the background. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"Well we're dating for now, we're just going to see where we end up. So far I really enjoy being with her and would like to continue dating her." He replied flawlessly.

"That's good enough I think. Now it's time for the motherly side. Are you using protection when you're poking my daughter?" Both of our faces got beet red and I looked at Clark between my fingers and it seems he didn't have words. Even though my mom knew Clark and I hadn't had sex it was still just as embarrassing of a question when she was being naïve.

"Ma, I think that's good enough, you officially scared the shit out of my date. Leave him alone and pick on someone your own size." I barked at her.

"Fine I will. Honey that dress makes your boobs look small."

"That top looks like it belongs in the dumpster by a Goodwill." I shot back and she started laughing.

"Clark I'm just teasing you. Anyways, Clark I know you work for the Daily Planet and are a renowned writer. Tell me something else I should know about you." Clark smiled and relaxed a little bit.

"Well I grew up on a farm in Kansas. I'm an only child and my parents are Jonathan and Martha. I went to college in Kansas but I wanted out of there so I transferred here to Metropolis so I could work for a bigger corporation. I eventually made my way up to the Daily Planet and I really love my job. I try and stay away from the flashy stories about celebrities and unimportant matters. One day I hope to do work over in the Middle East. I don't know what else to say."

"That's wonderful. I've read some of your work about the inner city poverty and what the government is missing. I'd rather read your work than Lois Lane who usually does stories on Superman. The fact that people think him and Lois are in a relationship is laughable." Clark nodded his head as to agree with her. "I mean why would you go for Lois Lane when Wonder Woman is right there!" Clark didn't look amused. I jumped from my seat though and pointed at my mom.

"That's what I'm saying!" We both just laughed and I sat back down.

"What did you do as a job Miss Valentine?" Clark asked to change the subject.

"Well let's see, I was a veterinarian for about twenty years but then I wanted a change of pace so I became a secretary for a psychologist for some time. He was actually a psychologist for child molesters. It was an interesting job and you wouldn't believe the type of people that walked in there."

"Could you tell a lot of them were child molesters by looking at them?" Clark was interested now.

"Nope. They were all professional people. There were businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and even sports physicians." Clark was floored by this information.

"You wouldn't think that's the type of person that would do that."

"Actually child molesters usually are the type of people who are well known in their community and well liked. It's a very common trait they have."

"That's interesting, I didn't know that."

"Well now you know. Keep an eye out." Clark mulled this information over but then his eyes lit up.

"Could you tell me some stories of Jovilette when she was growing up?" My mouth fell open and I looked at my mom pleading her with my mom not to embarrass me.

"Sure! I've got so many. There was one time where she got into the markers, and instead of normal children and drawing all over the walls, she must have thought it would be funny to draw all over herself. I came home and there were pink and green footprints all over the house and some on the bottom of the walls. There was another time that she went around the entire neighborhood and let all the neighborhood dogs out of their fences. It was complete pandemonium and everyone was so mad at her, if I remember right everybody was able to get their dogs back but from then on they all had locks on their gates so Jo couldn't get back there. Another time was when she brought a boy home and she was about nine and she went upstairs with him and told me they were going to play doctor." I saw Clark's mouth open and my mom paused for dramatic effect. "Well it took me a few minutes to realize that was a cue word so I ran upstairs and what I found was hilarious. She had this poor boy lying on his back and she was poking him with different pencils and markers. She told him to take five pills every day and the pills she gave him were from her Pez dispenser. I can't think of anymore times right now, but boy will I tell you she was a trouble maker in high school."

"Was she now…" Clark glanced at me and I shrugged.

"Oh yeah." My mother responded. "She used to sneak out all the time and she brought total dirt bags home. They usually had at least five tattoos, piercings, and leather. Some of them even had a motorcycle. It took her forever to get out of that cycle of bad boys." Clark laughed and I sighed.

My mom went on and on about my past. Her and Clark were having really good conversations. I was glad they were getting along but it was about time to leave so I got up and told my mom that we should be going. She gave us each another hug goodbye and truffles for the ride home. As we were leaving she shouted: "Clark if you want a more mature woman you know where to find me!" He just waved back at her with a grin on his face and I smacked his side.

"Don't even think about it." I warned him and he threw his head back and laughed. It was nice to know they would get along, it's not like I had any doubts in the beginning but it just smoothed any worry that was starting to build up within me. It was only a matter of time before I went to Kansas with him and met his parents.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for the reviews and follows! I hope I do this story justice and let me know if you think I should change something or suggestions for future chapters. I thought Jo's mom was fun to write but I'm going to give a little break on the parent aspect right now. I'm sure you all can tell that this story will jump a head in time a little each chapter. Things are going to get pretty different in the upcoming chapters so be prepared! Anyways, enjoy!

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I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My soft pink skirt with my grey blouse and my grey pumps accentuated my curves and made me look extremely feminine. Plus the heels made my legs look amazing. My hair was nice and curled and my "natural" makeup looked good. My nude purse completed the outfit. I could do this. It was only Clark's office you were trying to impress, no big deal. Only the best reporters and photographers in Metropolis. Deep breaths I kept telling myself. I strode out of the apartment with fake confidence. Clark had no idea I was coming to surprise him with a proposed lunch date and I had to talk to Lois really quick.

Lois and I met a year ago when she was doing a report on the Metropolis Zoo and how the budget cuts were affecting all the animals in a negative way. Her and I thought a lot alike and we were a force to be reckoned with when I was single and wild. I was glad she never had feelings for Clark, because I might never have agreed to date him otherwise.

The ride on the train to the Daily Planet was making me even more nervous. As soon as I reached my stop, I felt like throwing up. Breathe. I strode into the front doors and asked the lady at the front desk which floor Clark was on and she beamed up at me.

"Are you Clark's girlfriend?"

"Um, yeah I am. Is that a bad thing?"

"Oh no! Clark is such a nice man. I've just never seen a woman come in and ask for him, well not one that was as pretty as you anyways. He's on the very top floor." She winked at me and I just smiled at her. I strode over to the gold elevators and pressed the up button. I heard a gasp behind me.

"Wow. What shoot are you here to do?" I turned around and a redheaded young man was gawking at me.

"Um, excuse me?" I stepped inside the elevator and he followed.

"Who's photographing you? It should be me. That's why you're here right?"

"Actually no. I'm flattered you would think so. My name is Jovilette." I stuck out my hand and he took it with great eagerness. Recognition had hit his eyes. So Clark had talked about me. I smiled at the thought. The door finally closed and I pressed the top button. This man hit another floor and I was secretly relieved to not go up there with him.

"I'm Jimmy. You're Clark's main squeeze right? He talks about you a lot. To be honest I'm surprised he got someone as hot as you but he is a great guy and one of my closest friends."

"I don't really know what to say to that? Clark is definitely more than meets the eye and he makes me happy."

"Well I'm glad you're both happy. Shame you're not with me but I will take this loss graciously. Well this is my stop. Nice to meet you Jovilette!" I just waved meekly at him and leaned up against the railing inside the elevator. My heart was beating as fast as it could go and my hands were shaking like no other. I did a little dance until I heard the door 'bing' open and I reluctantly got off the railing and strutted into the room. I felt several heads turn my way and a couple guys make comments I couldn't exactly hear. I searched through the rows of desks and finally found my man sitting behind a screen staring intently.

I walked over to his desk and sat on it. I just smiled sweetly at him and saw his gaze slowly trail up my skin and finally when he found my face he looked like a man who had won the lottery.

"You know if I were some other woman I would feel greatly offended Mr. Kent." I grinned at him and he just loosened his tie.

"Good thing you're not other women. I could recognize your legs from a mile away. What are you doing here?" I was so happy I could see this look of bewilderment on his face.

"Asking you to lunch. I took the day off work to get some things taken care of but I finished everything. Plus I wanted to see your work area. Oh, by the way I ran into your friend Jimmy." He frowned at that. Oh good, then he knows he must have hit on me.

"Sorry about that. I could only imagine what he said. You're actually getting a lot of attention right now and I'm not sure I can compete with all these guys in the office."

"You don't think so? Well I can make sure they know I'm yours." I slid off the desk and sat sideways on his lap and leaned in to give him a big fat smooch on the lips. I actually heard a couple of disappointed grunts around the room. I just chuckled against Clark's lips. He smirked back at me and his face was all red.

"Jesus Jo, if I had known this would be the result of my hook up then maybe I should go back in the past and prevent this from happening." Lois's voice pulled me out of the moment and I sprung up and hugged her lithe frame.

"Shut up Lo, you know you wouldn't do that. You love me too much." Lois just pulled back and pretended to put on a sour face but gave up and just laughed.

"Girl on girl action right here in the office? Have I died and gone to heaven? Hello who is this beauty? Name's Steve Lombard sweetie, but you can call me whatever your little heart desires." He pulled my hand and kissed it. I just looked at Lois and she smacked my hand away from his mouth.

"Excuse you Steve but this is Jovilette, Clark's girlfriend, so hand's off. Go find some sewer rat to romance. She's too good for you anyways." And this is why I loved Lois. She was such a spitfire and I absolutely adored it. When we would go to the bars together we would always come up with ridiculous pick up lines and see if they would actually work. We would pretty much do anything from dancing on the bars to making a scene by kissing each other and pretending we were lesbians. This woman was a hoot.

"Clark, this is your girlfriend? How did you manage that one?"

"Lois actually set us up. And now I'm taking this beautiful woman out to lunch. See you when I get back Lois. Hands off Steve." Clark took my hand and intertwined it with his and I just beamed at him. We walked hand in hand to the elevator and as soon as it opened up we stepped inside and once the doors closed I stepped right up to him so our bodies were flush against each other and I wrapped both my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes. I gave him a sultry kiss on the lips and he lifted me right off the ground so it was easier for both of us. I don't think I've ever been happier to be at a boyfriend's work than now. I smiled against his lips and he just held me there as he was grinning at me.

"You know, we could totally take advantage of this elevator ride… no one's in here." He just shook his head and laughed. I was dying for him to get in my pants. I just needed to be as close to him as humanly possible and that hadn't happened. Five months! Five months and absolutely nothing happened. I was hardly going to take much more of this even though I told him I respected his decision, which I did. He set me down on the ground and looked at me pointedly.

"We're almost to the ground floor. Nice try." He took my hand again as we made our way onto the street and I saw the receptionist from earlier give me a thumbs up.

"Seems you made a lot of friends today, huh?" He wrapped his arm around my neck.

"You could say that. Everyone's really surprised I'm with you. That's so sad."

"Why is it sad? You don't exactly see me the way they do. I'm a klutz when I'm around them and I'm so shy. I never bring girls around and none of the girls at the office even notice me unless they want something. Plus I'm not the most attractive of the bunch."

"Seriously, stop it right there! I have told you before how gorgeous you are. But how can the women not see what a gentleman you are? Too bad they never gave you a shot. Actually, I'm not because that just means I get you all to myself. I'm seriously so happy we're together Clark. I don't know what I would do without you." A look flicked across his face that I couldn't exactly pinpoint. Regret? Shame? Sorrow? Whatever it was made me second question him. What wasn't he telling me? The look was only there for a second but the thought stuck to the back of my brain.

"You're too sweet. But seriously the guys are right I definitely don't deserve this. I wish-." He stopped midsentence and frowned.

"What is it?" He was acting weird.

"I just remembered I have to go get something from my apartment. My assignment was due today by noon. It's officially late. Perry is going to have my hide. I have to go."

"Oh. Okay. Well I guess rain check?" I asked as he was already leaving. He just nodded at me and mouthed sorry as he sprinted off into the streets. Standing there in the middle of the park, I felt like a complete loser. As if my karma was any worse it started pouring down rain and soaking my clothes. I was officially chilled to the bone and I walked home basking in my sorrow. This was the third time this month that he had done that to me. I always loved the rain so I slowly reached my apartment and I went over to my closet to grab the biggest pair of sweatpants I could find and threw them on. I also put on a ratty old t-shirt and put on my fuzzy socks. I made hot chocolate and sat up in the chair by the window with Cobalt curled up on my feet. I reached down and pet his ears. He wagged his tail in response and scooted up closer to my face. I just laughed and set down my hot chocolate. I cuddled up with my big love bug and must have fallen asleep because when I woke up and looked at the clock it said eleven. I was hoping it was eleven at night and not in the morning since I had work the next day. I set my alarm on my phone and saw the text from Clark.

"This is why I don't deserve you. I am so sorry. I will make it up to you, I promise. Goodnight Jovilette. Sweet dreams."

...

The Next Day

"Hi honey!" Clark's mother, Martha, sounded surprised and excited at hearing his voice.

"Hi Ma."

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He could hear the smile in her voice and was worried about her reaction through hearing his news.

"I'm actually calling to tell you that I've been dating someone for a little while now."

"Oh? How is it going? I'm assuming not well since you seem nervous talking about it."

"I kind of am. She really means a lot to me but she has no idea about my secret and yesterday I had to take off during our date. She came specifically to my work, for the first time, and surprised me with lunch and I had to bail halfway. I feel awful Ma. I don't know what to do." Clark's voice came out weak and it only reminded Martha of when he was younger and was confused about his powers.

"Oh honey. I'm so sorry. We knew this was going to be a challenge. She sounds like a wonderful girl. One day she will understand. You can't exactly keep her in the dark forever Clark. Just as long as you make it up to her she won't get so upset. Show up to her work. Surprise her. Tell me about her!" Clark chuckled at that and took a deep breath.

"Well her name is Jovilette Valentine. She's tan, has freckles, and long brown hair. She has dark green eyes and has a great sense of humor. She is clumsy like Clark is and loves to try new things. She's brave and fearless. The things that come out of her mouth are just never what you expect. She could be in a life or death situation and she will make a joke about it. She's actually a zoologist and works at the Metropolis Zoo. She's really smart and I really like her Ma."

"Clark, honey, this is the first girl you have talked to me about since Lana. That must mean that she is important to you. She seems like a smart cookie, Clark. One of these days she will figure out your secret and she will be hurt that you didn't tell her first. You're a grown man but if it were me in her position I would rather hear it from you than anyone else. Sometimes in love you just have to put all your faith in the other person. That's what it's all about."

"Ma, I never said I was in love."

"Whatever you say dear. I have to go. The gardeners are here. Good luck Clark and bring her home so I can meet her soon! I love you hun."

"I love you too, Ma. And I will. Goodbye." His mother hung up on him and her words rang in his head for a good hour after that. Was he in love? He had no idea but the one thing he did know is that he needed to make it up to Jo, somehow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Sorry this update was so slow. I got hooked on that damn show Supernatural now the only thing I do these days is watch it. But I'm already on Season Five so I should be somewhat done with the series soon but I already have the next chapter prewritten and the only thing left to do it edit it so it should only be a couple days. Hope you guys like this chapter. I have ideas for random chapters so those should be entertaining to write. Anyways, enjoy!

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I sighed when I reread the text from Clark last night. I didn't have the ovaries to reply and I was just plain confused. I don't understand why he had bailed on me like that; he never was late on assignments. He was always on top of them so I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he chose my date to dip out. I returned my stare back to my computer screen and squinted at the numbers to try and refocus my attention when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at the sympathetic face of Ken. Ken was a man in his late thirties and an eligible bachelor. He always tried taking me out on a date and I always refused because I never wanted to date a coworker. That would have gotten too messy.

"Are you okay Jo?" He asked me gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine, crappy day yesterday is all."

"You get dumped girl?!" Sandy screeched at me and I rolled my eyes at Ken.

"No Sandy I didn't get dumped." I turned my attention to Ken. "I'm sorry Ken I don't really want to talk about it."

"That's fine, I'm just letting you know I'm always here for you." I thanked him and he went back to his workstation. I looked at the research and I started to get back to work when I felt my boss approach and I cringed.

"Jo you're going to take your lunch right now."

"Um but it's only eleven. I usually take it at one." I replied confused.

"Not today you're not. You have a visitor so I'm going to make you take your lunch right now. They're waiting outside for you." I looked up at him skeptically and slipped on my jacket and strolled outside the lab. What I saw made me extremely confused.

"Clark what are you doing here?" He looked at me sadly and was holding up white roses, which were my favorite.

"Jo, I have no words for how sorry I am. I was hoping I could make it up to you but showing up at your work." I walked up to him and grabbed the flowers from his hands and held my finger up as I showed him I wanted him to wait a few minutes. I slipped back into the lab and found an extra glass beaker and slipped the roses into it. I heard several catcalls and I saw Ken looking pretty surprised. I walked back outside to Clark and felt Sandy right behind me before the door closed, peeping on my mystery man. She exaggerated a moan and luckily the door closed before it got too embarrassing.

I just looked at Clark expectantly demanding an explanation with my eyes.

"I'm sorry Jo about yesterday but you can expect things like that to pop up now and then. I'm a forgetful man." He ran his hand through his hair.

"That's the thing Clark you're not a forgetful man. I have never known you to be so I don't understand why you're hiding behind that as an excuse. I don't like being lied to but I know you're not coming clean to me anytime soon. You can have your secrets but the minute you start pushing me away because of them is the moment I will scrub the truth out of you. Everyone has their demons Clark and not everyone is going to admit them but I don't want to be pushed away by yours."

"I won't let you be pushed away." He stated. I stared at him in the eyes and his eyes held mine for what felt like centuries.

"Good. Now what do you want to spend my lunch break doing?"

"I was just thinking we could have lunch in the zoo and explore?"

"Okay sure, first off would you like to see the ti-liger I'm studying?"

"I'd love to." He smiled and I took his hand as I led him behind the employee-only door and we were able to see the magnificent creature behind a large piece of glass. She was truly beautiful. As big as a Liger and her dark stripes were mostly muted on her coat except for her face. The dark markings of the tiger were clearly shown on her face. She was just laying down on the grass taking a nap. It was amazing how much she acted like a regular housecat.

"I couldn't imagine that species in the wild." Clark said in awe.

"She wouldn't survive. Her body is simply too big for her to do anything. She would be too slow of a hunter. Her body is huge but evolutionary wise she wouldn't survive."

"Well that's kind of sad but she's still extraordinary to see. Have you gone into the cage with her?"

"I sure have, there's always a trainer with me but she's friendly enough. Sometimes they bring her into the vet's office and we have to go in and take blood samples and all that good stuff, and it's laughable how she doesn't fit on the operating table at all. Anyways, let's go get some food and stroll around the park." I led him to the cafeteria and as we were eating corndogs we walked through the exhibits and I would tell him all kinds of random facts I had learned about each animal. He was extremely impressed with how unimportant the information I knew. When we got to the giraffe exhibit I pressed my face right up to the fence and he started laughing at me.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to will one of them to lick me." I turned around to Clark and confessed. "One of these days I'm going to Africa. It's my biggest dream and whether I go there for work or just for personal enjoyment has yet to be seen but I will go there! I'm determined."

"Why Africa?" He asked.

"Why not Africa? I have always been amazed at the African cultures and I have always wanted to witness their customs first hand and I would love to help out at an orphanage there. Not to mention my favorite animals come from there. The fact that it's warm helps too."

"Well I hope you can go, that sounds like a lot of fun. By the way I talked to my mom."

"Oh you did? What does your mom have to say?"

"She says that she wants to meet you soon and is kicking me for not bringing you sooner. So when the next holiday comes I'm hoping you'll come with me to meet my parents."

"Sounds good but the next major holiday besides Halloween is Thanksgiving, your parents would want me there for that?"

"Absolutely, they can't wait to meet you. But when I was talking to her, I realized something." He said quietly.

"Oh yeah, what did you realize?" I inquired.

"Jovilette, I have never met anyone like you, not even close."

"Well gee thanks." I said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. You are funny, smart, beautiful even though you don't even realize it, challenging, and you make me realize what it means to be a person. You see the good in everyone though you don't like to admit it, you're the reckless sort of crazy, and I couldn't ask for anything else from you. When Lois set us up on that blind date I was expecting to be let down and my breath stopped when I saw you, after you ran into me of course. I'm so thankful I met you and after talking to my mom about you I realized that I love you." My stomach was all fluttery and my breath was quickening. My palms were sweaty and my mind was blank except for one question.

"You love me?" I asked, not quite sure I heard correctly.

"I do. I truly love you Jovilette and it's okay if you can't say it because I feel it enough for the both of us."

"I love you too Clark. I just thought I would have been the one to say it first." I slightly laughed but then Clark wrapped his arms around me and kissed me to shut me up. I don't know how long we embraced like that but suddenly my alarm went off letting me know lunch was up and we were both regretful to let go of each other. He dropped me off back at the lab and I waved goodbye with a grin on my face. As soon as he was out of sight I slipped back into the building and I felt everyone's eyes on me.

"What?"

"Who was that hunk?" Sandy asked.

"That hunk was my boyfriend, hands off Sandy." I pointed my finger at her like she was going to steal my man.

"Fine. What's his name anyways?" She questioned.

"His name is Clark Kent." I stated.

"Are you talking about the Clark Kent that works at the Daily Planet with Lois Lane?" Ken asked me.

"Yes that is the same one. Now if you don't excuse me I have to get back to work before I get in trouble." Everyone went back to his or her work and as I sat down in my chair I smiled. I sent a picture of the flowers to Clark and thanked him again for our lunch date. He told me it was his way of making it up to me and I told him I was glad he did.

The rest of the day went by fast due to my mental replay of the way he told me he loved me and the entire day in general. I was elated to have the permission to meet his parents but a little nervous. Just as I was nervous about how serious we were getting. Granted saying I love you was a normal thing to do at our stage in the relationship but I just hope he doesn't ask me to marry him anytime soon. Marriage was never brought up and I was glad. I was going to have to wait several years in order for me to even think about it. For right now, I just wanted to go slow and steady with Clark and enjoy every moment I had with him, skipped lunch dates forgiven.


	8. Chapter 8

I was curled up in a little ball on the couch with Cobalt lying on my legs when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I wasn't about ready to get up out of this exceptionally comfortable position. The only way to survive winter was to resemble cat-like sleeping habits. I tilted my head back and saw Clark come through the door with Chinese food. He just frowned at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You should look through the peephole when there's a knock." He scolded me. I rolled my eyes.

"I knew it was you because you said you would be here at this time and…voila! Here you are!" He just put the food on the table in front of the couch and sat down on the other side of it with Cobalt in between us.

"You didn't know it was me for sure though. I worry about you all the time would you please just try and make safe decisions." He looked at me earnestly and I sighed.

"Fine I will but you have to stop treating me like some damsel in distress. I'll be fine okay?" He looked at me skeptically and murmured 'okay'.

"What are you watching?" He turned his attention to the television and looked at me amused.

"It's a show called 'Once Upon a Time'. It's one of my favorite shows and it's fairly new. I'm halfway through the first season and the third season just started. I am catching up to it. I don't think you would like it though it's all mushy and filled with true love."

"Well what's it about?" He pushed his glasses up a little higher on his nose.

"All the fairy tale story characters get cursed and sent into the real world and no one knows their past except for the queen who cursed them. The only person who can save them is a woman named Emma who is Henry's biological mother. Henry is the adopted son of the queen who cursed their land so it's pretty interesting and of course they do flashbacks of when the characters are in the fairy tail land."

"I think it sounds pretty interesting. I'll watch it with you if you want to continue it."

"Really?" I was pretty disbelieving because I didn't think he was going to want to watch it. He just nodded and smiled so I turned the television back on and we both watched the show. I had to pause the show several times when Clark would ask questions and I had to answer them. I thought it was cute how he was pretending to be interested in something that interested me. We sat there absorbing the show and I started crying when Emma was in the hospital and was seeing what Henry looked like in the coma. I wiped my tears with my sleeve and Clark just chuckled at me. I sent him a death glare and his eyes got wide and he guiltily turned back to the television. I saw Clark put his phone on the table and then he threw his arms on the back of the couch and the couch enveloped him even further. I looked at him twenty minutes later and he was asleep. I just stared at him incredulously.

I guess this show was pretty bad for him if it put him to sleep. I was pretty curious about his phone though so I carefully inched up off of the couch. Cobalt swayed his droopy eyes towards me and perked up his ears. Even the dog was looking down on me for my antics. I slowly reached for his cellphone and when I touched it I looked over at him to see if he had woken up. This was so wrong on so many levels and I could get caught so easily but we had been dating for six months so I figured it would be okay, right? I gently sat back down on the couch with his phone in my hand and I was going through his messages. I didn't open any of them but he had a lot from Lois and from the first few words it looked work related. That didn't bother me at all. What disturbed me was when I saw A LOT of messages from a woman named Diana. I didn't even want to look at them but at the same time it was killing me not to open them but I restrained myself. There were a lot of messages from a man named Bruce. My mouth tilted downwards as I realized that he never once spoke a word about a man named Bruce or a woman named Diana. These people obviously knew him really well and he never talked about them. I was really confused but decided to leave the matter alone. I pressed the home button and I stopped myself from putting the phone back to sleep. I stared at his background. His background was a picture of me sleeping. It wasn't creepy or even sexual. I had on one of his shirts and I looked like I had a small smile on my face. It must have been a good dream. I looked very peaceful and it would make sense as to why Clark would want to have this as his background. It was kind of a funny picture but also an awkward sort of pretty picture.

I got an idea then. I turned on his camera on his phone and took a quick one of him sleeping. At this point he looked ridiculous because his head was back and his mouth was wide open. I was expecting a pile of drool dribbling down the side of his cheek at any moment. I then switched it to the internal camera and took a couple funny pictures and a couple of me smiling. I crept off the couch and went to the bathroom and got into one of my big white t-shirts and pulled my pants off. I took a couple of pictures like that in the mirror and then I did one where I tugged at the bottom and revealed my black lacy thong I was wearing. I took so many flirtatious pictures this boy was bound to have a heart attack. I put my clothes back on and snuck back to the couch and carefully placed the phone exactly where it was. Cobalt must have gotten up because he was nowhere to be found. I slid on over to where Clark was. Grasping his hand in mine I gently tugged and he awoke with a startle.

"I'm so sorry I fell asleep. I've just been so busy and hadn't slept much." He said sadly.

"Come on let's go to bed. You can still sleep but the bed is more comfortable I promise you." I pulled him up and we walked over to the bed and we slid in together. He curled his arms around me and I could feel him plant a kiss in my hair. His body molded against mine and I could feel his breaths get heavier each second. Sure enough he was lightly snoring and I listened to every breath he took. Each one pulled me deeper into sleep and soon enough the craziness that was my mind was playing a movie for me.

…..

I felt his tight vice-like grip around my body and could hear him breathing quietly in and out against my ear. I tried turning around but his arms were too strong and I had no room to myself. I squinted at the numbers on the bedside table and gasped when I realized that we had slept in.

"Clark!" I was shaking him awake.

"What?! What's wrong!?" He was instantly sitting up and looking around the room for a fire.

"We're late for work! My boss is going to kill me!" I groaned and jumped out of bed and into my closet and I could hear Clark get his belongings and then he yelled to me that he was leaving. I hurried into my work clothes and I grabbed my purse and was hopping out of the door trying to put my shoe on. I flew down the stairs and thankfully hailed a taxi on the first try. We flew to the zoo and as I passed all the security inspections I sprinted to my lab. I slipped on my coat and slid into my seat. All of my coworkers just grinned at me because they knew I would be in hot water for being an hour late. It wasn't my fault it was all Clark's. At least that was what I was going with. I felt bad for him because my work was only ten miles from the apartment and his was more like thirty, I wonder if he got to work on time or not. Because I started before him I was hoping he wouldn't be late.

"Speak of the devil." I murmured to myself as I pretended to be paying attention to the data in front of me. I looked at my phone and had a new message from Clark. I opened it up to see this message:

"I barely made it to work. By the way I really enjoyed all those pictures you took on my phone. Thought that was a nice surprise as I was trying to show my boss a picture I took earlier this month but the only thing he got was a good view of your underwear. Nice. He laughed and patted me on the back saying how proud he was of me. Anyways I'm glad I was able to be with you last night and I'm sorry for falling asleep again. That show really was good but I should watch it when I'm more caught up in sleep." Wow he never sends long texts so boy was I surprised I had to read an essay practically. I could hear someone clearing their throat behind me. I slowly turned around to find my boss peering down at me in anger.

"What took you so long Jo?" He asked eerily calm.

"My alarm didn't go off…" It was the truth at least.

"I see. So you arrive to work an hour late and also decide to text while you're at it. Where do you think you work? McDonald's?" He sneered.

"Oh come on! I saw Jack in the back corner eating donuts with you yesterday for about an hour!" His face turned purple.

"We were talking about a project! That's your second strike this month Jo one more and I swear I will give you the biggest portion of the project by far and make your life hell."

"It won't happen again! It was an accident, I'm sorry!" He grunted and walked away with a tomato red face and I groaned as I laid my head on the table in front of me and mock cried. This was going to be a long day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Okay I feel like I'm doing too much of these. Anyways this is where the action starts to happen. More chapters up soon, enjoy!

* * *

The music was pumping through my headphones as I was on the bus heading to work. My head was bobbing and swaying to this little British girl who sang this catchy pop song. I even got so into this song that I started mouthing the song with a little attitude. I didn't care what anyone thought of me on this bus they should be used to my antics by this point. Between being late to work yesterday and having a big presentation coming up this month I needed to have a good day today.

I felt myself lurch as the bus suddenly stopped in the middle of the street and everyone was gasped. The first thing I noticed was this gigantic grey monster standing in front of our bus and looking in. The second thing was were winged creatures that surrounded him. This giant…thing… had grey rock like skin and glowing red eyes he was easily half the size of this bus. He was truly a menacing creature and at this point I wasn't sure what to feel or even think. He looked like he was staring straight into the bus and was searching for something or someone. He grabbed hold of the doors and ripped them off like it was nothing. We heard him say something in another strange language to the flying monsters. It must have been a command because they all started making their way onto the bus. I tried to make myself seem small and insignificant but with only twenty people on the bus the chance of me standing out was pretty great. Luckily I was towards the back so they didn't have to grab me because there were a lot more people in front of me.

As the monsters crawled on the bus people were screaming and crying, some were even praying. I realized there were some babies on the bus and my heart stopped and I was about to offer myself up as a distraction when I realized I didn't have a choice about that.

"Jovilette Valentine! We require the human called Jovilette Valentine!" My stomach lurched and I almost emptied its contents right onto the floor. My legs were shaking as I slowly stood up.

"If I go with you, will you promise not to harm anyone on this bus?"

The creature didn't seem to understand what I was saying as he walked closer, I began to walk backwards but then he ran at me and threw me over its shoulder. He flew and took me off the bus. He proceeded to throw me on the ground and the giant grey monster picked me up in one hand held me above his head. His gravelly voice boomed:

"Greetings weakling. You shall me know me as Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips."

I squirmed and thrashed in his grip but it was obviously no use. This man, monster, whatever, was too strong to even notice I was struggling.

I probably should have been scared witless, but I have never been one to fully realize the situation until hours after it happened. I once got in a really serious car accident where bones were broken and one of my lungs was close to deflating and I was crawling around the road trying to find my cellphone to call 911, which was just the woman I was. Seemingly fearless, but it was really just my brain cells not working into overdrive and my adrenaline never kicking in.

Darkseid's red eyes glowed with a sickening glimmer and he grinned maliciously.

"I had heard you were the Earth's champion's lover. I never expected a mere mortal!" He laughed and squeezed a little harder. Earth's champion's lover? What was he trying to say?

"Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about? Let me go!" I tried biting him like Emma did to the giant in Once Upon a Time, but to no avail. Damn TV.

"Superman is courting you, is he not?!"

"NO! Last time I checked Lois Lane was the one trying to court him. Put me down you have the wrong girl!" Darkseid looked confused for a second but shook his head.

"No you are Jovilette. You are the one I want. I shall make the hero come to me. Scream for me love. I want to see him in pain." I rolled my eyes. This man was clearly insane and hadn't done his homework because I was dating Clark Kent. But after Darkseid's words spat out of his mouth I truly thought about it. I was dating Clark Kent who, had black hair just like Superman had black hair too. Clark Kent was tall… probably Superman's height. Clark Kent was a gentleman… like Superman was. Clark had a chiseled jaw and extremely good looks… like Superman. My breathing was becoming constricted and it had nothing to do with the fact that a monster was holding me in his grip. It was that I was dating the world's greatest superhero and I had no idea. I was the biggest idiot. It all made sense now. Why he wasn't willing to sleep with me, why he would skip out on dates sometimes but repay for them later, why he never talked about Superman, why he never talked about the Diana in his phone, which I NEVER checked.

"Put her down Darkseid!" Superman, Clark, my boyfriend, was floating in front of us with his arms crossed. I just glared at Superman, knowing full well he would understand that I was pissed about his secret. Superman just had his eyes trained on Darkseid in a fury I had never seen before.

"I don't think so Superman. I'm only here to remind you why I am the most feared within all the realms and you are no exception, Man of Steel." Darkseid turned his head back to me and before Superman had a chance to act Darkseid released some red laser beams from his eyes towards my chest. The only thing I remember was the screaming I heard from all directions and how dead I was going to be. My reflexes kicked in and I flung my arm in front of my heart and shut my eyes. I got completely singed but I was expecting to be dead. Nothing happened except that I was too warm for my liking. I opened my eyes and Darkseid glared at me but dropped me quickly as if I was burning him. I fell to the ground and heard the dirt surrounding me hiss. What was happening to me? Before I knew it, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman and a couple other people came onto the scene to take care of Darkseid. Superman floated back down to the ground and looked at me sadly.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. Tears flooded my eyes before I had the chance to stop them.

"What kind of a question is that? My boyfriend has been lying to me. Some giant freak just kidnapped me. I am burning a hole in the ground, literally! Not to mention the fact that you have been omitting information about Wonder Woman that I probably should have known for a while now!" Superman looked sheepishly over his shoulder to see Wonder Woman snapping her head over to us and glaring her eyes at him.

"We need to go to the Fortress to continue this conversation and figure out what's wrong with you." He walked over to Batman and was talking quietly with him. Batman just gave him a curt nod of the head and Superman was walking over and taking off his cape.

"What are you doing?" I sneered at him.

"Relax. You have to put this on." He replied simply.

"Why in the world would I do that?"

"Because your clothes are burning off and you're going to be naked in a few seconds." He pushed the cape on me and I wrapped myself around it. It was huge and was longer than any dress I owned. He picked me up gingerly and almost dropped me as he winced.

"What's wrong?" Why was he wincing? Man of Steel my ass.

"You're core temperature is hotter than I've ever seen on anything before. You're almost too hot for the cape and the cape can withstand incredible amounts of heat. This is going to be a fast ride so please look at my chest while we fly it will make it easier with the nausea." He picked me up again and before I could even open my lips we were in the sky. I belted out a scream that could have woken up the other half of the world. I did as he told and focused solely on his chest. I studied the pattern in his suit and after that I hardly paid attention to the fact that my hair was whipping at an incredible pace. I hope it hits him in the face. Good. I don't know how long it was but we descended on a snowy plane in the middle of nowhere. I wiggled out of his arms and stepped onto the snow, which was a huge mistake because I instantly melted the ground and I collapsed at least twenty feet into the ice. My feet hit solid ice but I was stuck ten feet below the surface. Superman poked his head down to me and grinned. I had the strong urge to show him my pretty new ring that I got that was on a specific finger. I actually looked down at my hand and the ring was gone. It had probably melted just like my clothes did. I sighed. I tucked the cape tighter around me than was probably necessary.

"Help me get out of here!"

"Hold on, I'm going." He made a wind tunnel and sucked the ice and snow that was around me and moved it away from us. He came back to pull me into his arms and he made a dash for this giant sculpture. He took a key from under the mat, which I thought was pretty comical, and unlocked the giant ice door. He pulled me into his arms again and he flew us inside. He hissed though as I was burning through the cape and hurting him with the heat radiating throughout my body.

"Clark put me down. What's wrong with me?" My voice broke at the last part.

"I don't know Jovilette. That's why we came here. I have some of the most advanced technology on the planet and here you will be safe, temporarily anyways." I wanted to go and seek comfort in his arms but I knew I would hurt him so I hung my head low and let the tears fall from my cheeks. What an awful, awful day. "I'm so sorry Jovilette. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you. But I'm mostly sorry that I can't comfort you when you need it the most. The only thing I can offer you is what's in my fortress. I want to help you return back to normal." He inclined his head towards a hallway and I nodded my head slightly and followed. We entered a giant room with technology and machinery I couldn't even fathom what it was used for. He told me to step on this scanner and I did as he asked.

"You're going to need to drop the cape Jo." I glared at him and dropped it, just like he asked. He got a lustful look in his eyes.

"Are you kidding me?! You don't have the right to look at me right now. Keep your hands to yourself Boy Scout." I was fuming. He sent an apologetic look my way and went over the computer screen. He typed something in and suddenly the pad I was standing on lit up and I could see my body being scanned. I tried to remain still but it was really hard. After about a minute or so he told me I could step off and put the cape back on. I went over to his workstation and looked over his shoulder and expertly clutching the cape to me.

"What are you looking at?"

"Jovilette, this is weird. It's telling me that there's now titanium crystals imbedded into your DNA strands."

"What are you talking about?"

"Did this happen when Darkseid fired his beams at you?"

"I'm assuming so. My reflexes got the better of me and I stuck my arm out in front of my chest. I'm surprised I'm not dead, I wonder why."

"How did you even encounter titanium crystals?" He was completely dumbstruck.

"Well I had my crystal bracelet that my coworker got me but I assumed it was fake. I was wearing it on the hand that flung out…"

"Where's the bracelet now?" He demanded.

"I'm not sure. It might have burned the straps of fabric holding it together. What does this mean? Why can't I cool down? Can I ever be able to cool down?"

"I'm not sure what this means but your body will cool down eventually. It's trying to flush the crystals out of your body but putting stress on your immune system. So it's like having a fever when you're sick…only worse. I don't know how long that will take though, probably a few days at the very least." He frowned at the computer again.

"I have to call my boss then."

"After everything I've told you, you're worried about making your boss mad?" I put my hands on my hips and mustered up the dirtiest look I could throw at him. If he wanted my wrath, he would get it.

"You don't get to tell me what to be worried about." I said in a murderous low voice. He put his hands up in surrender.

"Jo I said I was-"

"YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME HOW TO ACT! Do you know what it feels like to have a million questions ram into your chest like the fucking five o'clock train!? Do you know what it feels like to fall in love with someone and then realize that they were lying to you this entire time?! I feel like every moment was faked now. Is Clark a ruse? I'm not sure. Since the jig is up are we over? I am absolutely heartbroken over here Clark. My dad was a firefighter. He died saving people. Do you honestly think that I wouldn't be a little resentful over the fact that you save people as well? Just for once I would like to have a nice steady life where I wouldn't be haunted by my father's absence. I don't need to lose someone else I care for! I just need to be left alone. Don't bother coming after me."

I walked back outside and shivered as the icy wind hit my skin. I stumbled my way down the edge of water and sat down. Once again the ice melted and I sank to the bottom to where the hard ice was again. Luckily this time it was a little higher than the other area. I sat and hugged my knees to my chest. I sobbed and cried so hard my throat was hurting. I just sounded like a strangled animal I was sure; an animal that was on its last leg pleading for death in front of its predator. I don't know how long I sat there for but I laid down on the rock and closed my eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

When I opened my eyes red filled my vision. I was extremely confused because the last thing I remember was I fell asleep in the ice. Gently sitting up, I realized I was still naked but a couple of Superman's capes were covering a bed beneath me and a couple of his capes were covering me as well. I didn't feel as hot as I was so I took that as a good sign. I wondered if I was better?

"Oh good. You're awake. Don't be mad I brought you here but your body was cooling down so I thought I could bring you back inside. Look Jo, I said I was sorry and I want to talk to you about everything but you are my first priority and I need to make sure you're okay and stable before we say anything. Can I check you out?" I nodded my head weakly and he came over to the bed and sat next to me. He put his hand to my forehead and didn't pull away immediately.

"You're temperature is probably around 110 degrees. And for some reason I don't think that will come down anymore. I took a look at your cells and I can't really explain what I saw. Your individual cells have a harder, more rigid cell wall but they are still able to go through Mitosis. Your skin is harder, a lot harder actually and I wanted to see how tough it is."

"What? You want me to be your punching bag or something? I feel like a lab rat." He looked at me in horror.

"Jo I was just suggesting you get back on the scanner!"

"Let's figure this out the easy way. Give me a knife Clark." He just shook his head, obviously not going to give into my demands. I pushed him aside and strode out of the room naked. I was just about to get to the kitchen when I heard voices. I immediately stilled and hid against the wall. I peeked my head around the corner and found Wonder Woman and Batman leaning against the counter casually talking. Are you freaking kidding me?

"Sounds like she's up. Jovilette?" Wonder Woman's voice carried through the rooms and I was freaking out. I was completely naked and about to see two of the world's greatest heroes in all my glory. Oh no, I can't do this. I was about to turn around when Clark held out a woman's dress for me to slip on. I snagged it out of his grip and hurriedly put it on. I wasn't going to ask where he got this. Satisfied all my parts were covered I sauntered into the room with fake confidence.

"Um, hi." Wonder Woman was beautiful. My stomach lurched at the thought of her working with Clark. How was anyone supposed to compete with this beauty? Her long muscular legs were tan and exotic and her beautiful black hair was never out of place. Not to mention she had the curves of a goddess. Why hadn't I been dumped yet?

"Batman and I just came by to make sure you're okay. It means a lot to me to finally meet you. Superman never stops talking about you." She pulled me into a warm embrace and I hesitantly hugged her back. He talks about me? To this woman?

"Oh well it's nice to finally meet you too. I wish I could say he talked about you, either of you, but I had no idea until the attack." The sourness on my face must have shown because Wonder Woman took my hand again and sent a glance over my shoulder to Superman.

"Honey, you have to know why he did it. He wanted to protect you. You mean a lot to him and he didn't want to lose you." She smiled at me warmly.

"Are you ready to go Batman?" Diana turned around to walk with the mysterious figure out the door and I am no lesbian but man that woman has an ass. I wondered if she was dating Batman. Probably not, he was too dark for a woman like her.

"Are they dating?" I turned around to Superman and he just raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, no. She's actually dating Steve Trevor. He's an important military figure and she has known him since she arrived to the United States. Batman is with Catwoman. I probably shouldn't have told you that but I suppose I should start trusting you with this information." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Are we doing this now?" My voice was timid and I didn't want this to end. I was just starting to see a future with Clark Kent and something inside me was telling me that it was going to be ripped away from me.

"I guess. How should I start?" I looked into his blue eyes, which now looked regretful, and I was saddened.

"Well I know that you're from a planet Krypton? Your parents sent you away before the planet died? That's pretty much all I know. I don't read that much about Superman, err, you."

"Well that's correct. I was found when I was just a couple weeks old and Martha and Jonathan Kent found me in a spaceship. They adopted me and never told a soul about how they found me. I come from a planet called Krypton. My Kryptonian name is Kal-El. I came from the house of El. My birth parents were Lara Van-El and Jor-El. Jor-El was a scientist and predicted the planet's downfall and no one believed him. He was able to create a ship for me and sent me here so I could have a life. I didn't start having powers until I was about five. I started getting my super speed at about that time and by the age of 20 I had my supervision, flight, speed, strength, and my freeze breath by then. I didn't want to just sit and watch tragedies happen all around me as I stood by and watched like someone who couldn't do something. So I made sure Clark Kent didn't stand out so I could come out to the world as Superman. That's just the extremely brief version of my life."

"So let me get this straight you're just as much Clark Kent as Superman? How does that even happen? Who else knows you're Clark?"

"My parents, some people in the Justice League, and my old high school sweetheart Lana Lang. Those are the only other people that know besides you."

I clutched my hands into fists and took deep breaths. This was too overwhelming. This was every girl's dream wasn't it, to be ecstatic that THE Superman was their boyfriend? So why wasn't I feeling anything other than dread?

"Please say something. Mind reading is not one of my super powers." He begged me. He looked like a man in despair.

"I just, I'm at a loss for words. What does this mean for me? Am I going to be mind-wiped to forget you were Superman? What about Clark Kent? How does this change with him?" My throat was closing up on me and I couldn't breathe. My vision was turning black and I clawed at my throat in desperation to get some air. Superman was at my side in an instant sitting me on the ground putting my head in between my knees. My vision slowly came back to me and I gasped for air when I could breathe again. My hands were shaking and tears were falling down my cheeks. Superman had his hand on my back and was gently rubbing it.

"What's going to happen to me? Clark I love you. This is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I can't lose you. Please, I'll take any secrets you tell me to the grave. Give me a chance." I started sobbing and I put my face in my hands. I had never felt so vulnerable in my entire life. Clark scooped me up and cradled me to his chest. He clutched me like I was his last breath.

"Jovilette, no matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you, I do love you." I smiled gently up at him for resorting to a Once Upon a Time quote. "I told Batman this a while ago but being with you is like a breath of fresh air. You keep me on my toes and I never laugh more than when I'm with you. I love the way you love animals and are so passionate about your work. You make me feel normal. You keep me in check and I absolutely love that you love Clark more than Superman. You're not superficial like a lot of the women out there. I have never felt like this with anyone else in my entire life and I don't want to let it go either. I trust you with everything I tell you. The only reason I didn't tell you, like Wonder Woman said, was to protect you. I couldn't let anyone hurt you because they would suspect Superman would be with you. Unfortunately, Darkseid did find you and is smarter than a lot of the other criminals on the Earth. This was exactly why I didn't want to let you in. Even Superman can be scared Jo. You have to believe me." His cerulean eyes were tinged with regret and hope at the same time. I reached up and gently touched his face. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him. He pulled his face back immediately and looked at me in awe.

"What?"

"I can feel it when you kiss me now."

"You couldn't feel it before!?"

"Not really. But the raised temperature makes me feel it a lot more now." He dipped his head and kissed me again. I opened my mouth eagerly for him and he took full advantage. He groaned when our tongues met. I bet this feels so much better now that he can feel me. After a couple minutes he pulled away again. I frowned.

"Quit doing that." He laughed gently.

"I can't get too caught up in the moment." He sadly stated.

"Why can't we make love?" I had to know. It was long overdue and I was done with being patient.

"Let's just say that I can't lose myself in you. It would hurt you an incredible amount."

"So we'll never be able to do that?" A relationship without sex was just what I didn't need.

"There are certain things that we could do so that I could be able to love you. But it's going to take a while."

"Too bad I didn't get super strength. Wait, we never figured out how much I could take. Now I need to get that knife." I crawled out of his lap and sauntered over to the kitchen.

"Jo I seriously don't like this idea. Let's try something else." He requested.

"Knock it off Clark, I'll be fine." I picked up a giant butcher knife and pressed the pointy end to the inside of my wrist. But, nothing happened. I pressed down a little harder. Nothing happened. I picked it up and pretended to slam it into my wrist and screamed out loud. Clark blurred over to me and his face was a state of shock. I just started laughing.

"You're ridiculous. This isn't funny Jo. I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Trust me." I pressed the tip of the blade into my skin as hard as I could but nothing happened. I actually did slam it into my wrist but nada. It actually ended up breaking the knife. It seemed as though my skin was imperishable. I gave a short laugh but then proceeded to freak out. I was no longer normal. Not that I ever was to begin with but this was a major freak flag I was about to fly.

"Clark try and test my skin strength." He looked at me questioningly but hesitantly did so. He scraped his fingernail across my skin and frowned when nothing happened. It didn't even look scratched.

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Okay so I have a prewritten chapter full of smut but I was just curious if this story even needs it. Please review or message me if you think it should be added or message and review if you think it doesn't. Either way that is going to be up to you readers. I'll give it a week for responses, if I don't get any suggestions I won't post it. Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following!


	11. Chapter 11

_And here it is ladies and gentlemen! The moment we've all been waiting for. Time to get our smut on. I just hope I did them justice in this chapter. Reviews are always welcome :) On to the show!_

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Superman had to leave for about a day because there was giant landslide on the west coast so he left me here at the Fortress of Solitude. I argued with myself in my mind over this matter for half of the time I had and once I reached my decision I only had a couple hours to do what I had planned. I ran around the Fortress getting everything set up. Lit candles were littering the entire walkway to the bedroom and I had specifically asked Clark's robots to fashion me some lingerie that was a dark green color. Clark always told me he loves the colors of my eyes so I thought I could play them up for him tonight. He said he wasn't ready but I think he was just scared of hurting me and I knew he wouldn't. He would just have to trust me. I had dimmed all the lights in the giant palace and I spread rose petals so that they made a very specific trail leading up to his bed. I laid down on his bed in a seductive pose. However, what I thought would only take an hour apparently took several because sleep overtook my senses and I fell asleep.

"Jo?" His voice carried through the hall with curiosity. I slowly woke and sat up in a clumsy position. I felt drool on my cheek and I wiped it with the back of my hand.

"Uhhhh….ah….what's all this?" I whipped my head over to look at him and his face turned as red as a tomato and he started tugging at his collar unconsciously.

"Giving you a welcome home present? Is that not allowed?" I sat up and sashayed over to where he was standing and pressed myself fully up against him. I could feel the pattern of his suit pressed against my skin and my body tingled with anticipation. The muscles that were tightly enveloped in that suit only made me more willing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes. I whispered in his ear: "I missed you," I paused and I fell back to the balls on my feet and dragged my hands slowly down his chest and rested my hands on his back. "I accidentally fell asleep though, apparently getting the crap zapped out of you by an alien dissipates your energy. Anyways, I was trying to be all sexy for you but after that nap I am pretty sure Dita Von Teese would be looking at me in shame right now." I sighed.

"Jo… you look beautiful but you know why I can't. Wait who's Dita Von Teese?" He tilted his head and looked at me curiously.

"She's an extremely famous burlesque dancer. She actually was married to Marilyn Manson for a while. Hey don't distract me! Listen, I get that you're scared. I'm scared. But I need to prove to you that I'm not as fragile as you think. You have to trust me the way I am going to trust you. Please, let me love you Clark. I need you right now and this moment has been ten months overdue. I can only take care of my needs by myself for so long. I want to please you." He just stood there as still as a statue for several moments looking into my eyes searching for an answer. I was trying the puppy dog look on him and was hoping it was working. Seconds seemed to feel like hours as I waited for his answer.

"As soon as I hurt you, you have to tell me." I nodded my head eagerly. "And you have to do everything I ask of you, if I can't finish you have to respect that." I nodded my head again. He looked at me again for several seconds but soon after he swooped his head down and kissed me hungrily. His tongue delved right into my mouth and took my breath away. I tasted a little bit of dust in his mouth but that only solidified the reality that I was about to give all of myself to the world's one and only Superman. I didn't have time to elaborate and freak out over that fact because I felt his strong arms wrap around my body and lift me off the ground and pull me against him. I wrapped both my legs around his torso and I gripped his back as he laid us down on the bed.

"How do you take this off?" His uniform was hot but it needed to go. He reached down to his chest and pulled off his house symbol. His uniform started fading away and I was about to say something but his mouth was keeping mine busy at the moment. His tongue was making my head fuzzy. His hands left a blazing trail of heat down my body and ripped my lingerie to shreds.

My hands fumbled across the different muscles of his body. I felt his infamous biceps, triceps, even his glutes were under my seductive grasp. Even though we were both skin to skin we definitely took our time studying each other. My hands roamed every inch of him but my expedition was put on hold when his lips escaped mine and trailed down my outstretched neck. He nipped, bit, and caressed my skin with his tongue. Every inch closer his mouth was to the base of my neck was every inch I thrust myself closer to him. Every breathy sigh that came out of his mouth was an inch closer I was to losing the cool I didn't even have. I pulled him down on top of me and I felt his hardness graze against me. I gasped and arched into him, gripping his shoulders painfully. He groaned and took one of my breasts in his mouth and a moan escaped from both of us. I arched further into him; I swear I was going to fly right off this bed. His tongue was doing circles around the sensitive bud and his other hand was starting to massage my abandoned one. I raked my nails down his back. He tweaked my other nipple with his free hand and was making me pant. His hand crawled away from my breast and slowly but surely made their way down south. Goosebumps rose on my skin where he had just touched and my body felt hot. His finger slowly and torturously reached along my lips slowly circling around the area and up and down my slit. With every stroke my chest felt more constricted and I desperately wanted him to find the sensitive bundle of nerves. His mouth returned to mine and finally his fingers found my clit. When his fingers reached their destination my vision went spotty and for a second I forgot how to breathe. My muscles clenched and I tried to focus on his mouth on mine but breathing was getting so difficult. His fingers, tweaked, teased, pulled, and pushed and at this point his mouth was totally forgotten. With his mouth returned to nipping my breast and his fingers playing with me, I was right on the edge of ecstasy. With one final lap of his tongue and a final tweak of his thumb and forefinger on my clit I found my release and I moaned his name.

He went back up to my mouth and kissed me gently on the lips.

"Jovilette, open your eyes." I reluctantly did so and he looked concerned. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I took his face in both my shaking hands.

"Of course. I promise you won't hurt me. I love you." He kissed me lavishly and positioned himself in front of my entrance. He stopped kissing me for a moment and I opened my eyes to look at him and then he slid into me. I had been waiting for this moment since I had met him and nothing could compare to what it was actually like. Even though there was a little pain, It felt like I was finally whole. I breathed him in like he was my last breath. I clutched him like he was my lifeline and I was about to drown. I said his name like he was the last wish I would ever make. And I kissed him like this was my last taste of him.

He moved in and out of me with ease and he made sure to go slow so we could both cherish finally being together. I arched into him and gasped when I tilted my hips upward so he had a better chance of hitting my nerves. I could feel the sweat rolling down my body but I didn't even care. I just gripped onto him even tighter and encouraged every movement he made. With every thrust my head reeled and I knew he was getting close too because each thrust, he struggled lasting long. He put his finger on me again and started rubbing. I moaned and I knew I was almost there. With a few more tweaks and pumps he sent me over the edge and I knew that he was really close if he wanted me to come first. I pulled him as close to me as possible and started to kiss his neck as he found his release within me. He whispered my name and buried his face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around his back and cherished his weight on top of me. He wrapped his arms around me and flipped us so I was on top of him. He was still inside of me and I relished the full feeling he was giving me. I was floating and nothing could bring me down from this high.

"Man of Steel indeed." I said and he sleepily smiled at me. I laid my head down on his chest. I hope I wasn't crushing him. For once in my life I was right where I wanted to be. As I got to thinking, something caught in my mind. I probably should have been more nervous about having sex with someone who could bench-press the weight of the Earth. Most girls wouldn't have done with what I did. Most girls would have been as nervous as you could get just suggesting it. It sure is a good thing to be the type of person to shoot first and ask questions later. Another thought popped into my head.

I remembered reading some psychological study that after couples have sex, a certain chemical is released and that makes the couple come even closer than before. I thought Clark and me were already really close, despite the big truth, how much closer could we get? We were about to see.


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: **Hey so I am so sorry to all of my readers. I would have updated sooner but this has been a ridiculous couple of weeks. I got the news that my aunt died, then I had to go to her Memoriam the week after, then it was finals week and then spring break. So here is a long overdue chapter and the next one hopefully will be up sometime tomorrow. I really do feel bad about how long this update took so I hope to make it up to you. I really appreciated the feedback for this story and hope I continue to do this story justice. This chapter is somewhat of a flashback and a quick opinion from Jovilette about the future. Anyways, enjoy!

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**A year or so ago, I don't know I'm losing track**

My colleagues and I were sitting around the dinner table as we were gossiping about the latest news: Superman. Superman was apparently some alien superhero that had taken force to Metropolis a couple years ago. I had tried not to be like every other girl and hope that one day he would come and rescue me, but secretly I was 'fangirling' every time I heard something about him. I mean with dimples that cute and his hair as black as night and eyes as blue as the Mediterranean, he was extremely hard NOT to fantasize about. But as the years went on he was just a simple dream I had every now and again, but reality became more and more evident that I would never see him in person. But it was always fun to see what he would do next and all the people's lives he had saved that month.

But recently Superman had saved my friend Lois Lane for the third time that year. She would always recall the moments she had spent with him to me and it always took me by surprise that he was so open and so closed off at the same time with her. She would always tell me that he would warn her to stay out of trouble and be extremely gentle with her but he never gave any clues away that he had a personal life. This last time he had saved her and many others from a bomb in a political building, don't ask me which one because I have no clue.

It seemed to, not just me but the entire city of Metropolis, that Superman and Lois Lane were dating on the sly. However, every time I saw her I would ask her and she would sadly tell me that the relationship they had was strictly platonic even though she tried to make several moves. I was just jealous she even was able to spend time with him.

I remember the one time that I briefly saw him fly over the zoo where I worked. It was just a flash of blue and red in the air but I knew it was him. That was the closest I got to the caped wonder.

While my colleagues and I were sitting at the table in our favorite restaurant, talking crap about our boss, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my purse and read the text that Lois had sent me. _I know being single with me is a blast but I also know how you have wanted a man in your life for some time. There's a guy that I work with who is notoriously single and I think you two would get along famously. _I sighed as I rested my head in my hand. Lois was right, I was tired of doing the flings and the one night stands but I wasn't sure if I could trust Lois' judgment. Sure she had a great taste in men but I hated being set up by other people. I thought about what my reply should be when I got another text from her. _Don't be a baby. His name is Clark Kent, great reporter; I'll give him your number. Don't blow him off. _I stared at my phone in shock- what a jerk! She didn't even wait for my reply! My coworkers noticed my face in shock as Sandy, the ever boisterous one, had to comment.

"Ooooh Jo has that look on her face like someone pissed in her drink. What happened Jo-Jo?" She asked curiously.

"Apparently Lois just set me up and I had no say in it whatsoever!" I stated angrily.

"Who is the lucky man?" The handsome Ken asked.

"Clark Kent? Why does his name sound familiar?" I looked around the table and everyone's eyes were showing clear signs of shock.

"Uhhh do you read much of the Daily Planet?" Michael, the funny man asked.

"Not really, why?" I was ashamed I wasn't more involved in the local culture.

"He's one of Metropolis' best writers. He's clear competition for Lois Lane, but he does more realistic writing. She writes about Superman and he writes about government policies and conflicts that are occurring here in the city. So the fact that she set you up with one of Metropolis' most eligible bachelor is pretty cool." Michael stated simply. He added, "But of course if you don't believe MY word for it, Google him." I pondered that as I saw a text from an unknown number, gee wonder who that could have been.

_Is this the number for Jovilette? Lois is blackmailing me into texting you because apparently I am "such a loser" and "need friends". _

I laughed after I had read those lines carefully. I picked up my phone and I showed all of my coworkers and everyone except for Ken were cheering for me to say something spit-fiery back. Pondering what I should reply Sandy snatched my phone and texted something. Lord knows what that woman just texted this eligible bachelor but I could only imagine the worst. Her text was probably something along the lines of "Of course this is Jovilette and of course you can take me to bed" or "Yes this is her and yes I would love to do the horizontal mambo with you." But luckily she showed me the text before she sent it and I had to laugh at what her reply was.

_Why yes this is Jovilette. Is this the infamous Clark Kent I have heard so much about? Unluckily or luckily for you, whichever you prefer, I have no friends either and I too am a loser. _

She nailed it because that was something that I would have said and that alone proved to me I had chosen my friends well. I sent a smile at her and nodded my head encouraging her to send it. She pressed the button and gave my phone back to me. As my friends continued to talk my mind was beginning to wander. Their voices slowly faded into the background as I was picturing what life would be like if there was a man in the picture. Would I turn into some clingy girl? I sure as hell hoped not. Would I devote my schedule to him instead of myself? Again, I hoped not. I just was never sure of myself anymore because a lot of my girl friends used to be independent and feisty but ever since they have been in relationships or gotten married they have became boring doormats. They never thought for themselves anymore and everything revolved around their partner. I didn't want to be like that. Minutes passed by and I was in la-la land when I heard my phone vibrate again on the table and looked at the reply.

_Okay well we can be losers together, I don't mind. Call me old-fashioned but I would rather get to know you in person rather than over the phone. What do you say? You, me and a museum next Friday? _

I smiled at his response and my stomach was doing flips at the thought of going on a date with him. And the fact that he wanted to meet at a museum was so cool, since I was the biggest nerd and loved going there. I replied with something funny and agreed to his terms. He said something along the lines of: he couldn't wait to meet me and he would see me then. I sighed, as that was the cue I shouldn't text him anymore so I stashed my phone away and got back into the conversation of Sandy's latest antics.

Little did I know back then that the guest of honor in my dreams was going to be my boyfriend. I had no idea that the hero of not only Metropolis, but also the world was going to take me out to dinner and watch movies with me. The man going to hold my hand and holding my doors open for me was the one that rescued people from natural disasters and stopped the evil in this world from harming anyone.

My life has been forever changed since then and I know it has been all for good. Life has thrown me so many curveballs I usually just bat them away without so much as a blink, but this curveball I had to catch and look at curiously, because what I am going to do with this new information, I had no idea. All I knew was that I was going to be held responsible for holding such a valuable secret, the identity of the one and only Superman, and I couldn't tell a single soul. That, funny enough, wasn't going to be the hard part. Oh no, the hard part was going to be not letting this information affect my life. I was going to have to try and remain calm whenever Superman was in a dangerous fight, or leaving the planet for some intergalactic business, or even not getting jealous at the passes all the women and men threw at him. I had to remain the ignorant vanilla girl that was nothing special. Not the one that knew where Superman's lair was, or where he worked, or even what he ate for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Nope. I didn't know any of these things. I was just dating the humble Clark Kent who spilt his coffee on me on occasion, stepped on my feet sometimes, and remains the gentle giant with a fierce knowledge of his beloved city.

Yes, Clark Kent was who I was in love with and who I would continue to be in a relationship with. Superman was an outsider I was just getting to know. I had yet to take a look into the heart and soul of the Man of Steel but he would always take second place to the glasses wearing reporter that stole my heart months ago. Being the world's champion had nothing to do with how much I would love him. But being the world's champion would affect our relationship in ways I could never predict.


	13. Chapter 13

I woke up with a vice like grip around my lower back and I tried to wiggle my way out of it but it only got stronger. I stared up at the muscled chest and shoulders that encircled me. I could see some of his veins that wove in his arms. I started lazily tracing them and I saw goose bumps wherever I touched. But the heat generated between the two of us was too much to bear so I wheezed due to the heat and the incredible grip and that stirred Clark to wake up. He groggily opened his eyes and lazily smiled at me. I leaned into him and kissed him on the lips and he lessened his grip and I leaned back and took a deep breath.

"Sorry I had no idea I was crushing you. You should have woken me up sooner." His voice was all scratchy and ridden with sleep.

"It's fine I just woke up a minute ago." I said as I laid my head down on his shoulder and his hand went to play with my hair that I was assuming was a giant tangled mess.

"Mmmmm. Are you sore?" He asked with surprise in his voice. I laughed and then gasped when I realized I was.

"Yeah, actually I am. Damn, my half marathon didn't wear me out as much as you did. Unfortunately for you, I don't think I'll be quite ready for round two anytime soon."

"That's okay, to be honest I don't think I could be up for it either. You really wore me out. Last night was definitely better than anything I was imagining. I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Nope, well not in the sense that you're thinking of. It's natural to get a little rough during sex so you didn't do any more damage than I did to you." I frowned when I realized I had tore up his back last night. "Hey turn around I want to see something." He paused but then he turned over and I pulled the sheet down so I could see the entirety of his back.

What I saw confirmed my suspicions and I cringed as I realized how badly I fucked up his back with my nails. Dark red streaks were carved into his back and they looked pretty bad. I gently raised my fingers to touch them and Clark actually flinched when they came into contact.

"Oh my god," I breathed, "I am so sorry. I really messed you up last night." The horror was evident in my voice and it was etched all over my face. "I can clean this up for you."

"It's fine, I'm sure it will heal pretty soon. It doesn't hurt that bad. You're not the one that should be apologizing." He turned around and looked pointedly at my stomach and hips. I followed his gaze and laughed when I saw purple handprints on above my hipbones and a couple bruises that looked suspiciously like bites.

"Well, I can't believe I actually was able to mark the Man of Steel. At least now we know better. I'll just have to handle you like a baby, won't I?" I joked and he pinched my side lightly and narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're getting a kick out of being able to hurt me?" He asked in mock shock.

"Duh. Knowing that I can hurt you is pretty funny. The man of steel has a weakness and it's his girlfriend during sex." He didn't look amused at all.

"You're not my only weakness you know." He stated.

"I'm not? Damn." I snapped my fingers and tried to look put out but I couldn't resist smiling. On his nightstand there was a buzzing noise and Clark unwrapped his arm around me and leaned over to pick up his phone. He put his fingers to his lip to signal that I keep my mouth shut. I nodded my head in understanding.

"What is it?" He asked gruffly, briefly turning on Superman. He listened intently and rolled his eyes when he realized it was nothing of major importance. I took that as my cue to mess with him. My hand trailed over the muscles on his chest and snaked a little lower underneath the blankets as it got closer and closer to his hips. Superman pulled the phone away and gasped at me when he realized what I was doing.

"Uh huh. Yeah sure, no problem Batman." He struggled to retain his gruff voice as he closed his eyes shut tightly trying to control himself. My hand finally dipped between his legs and grasped him and I saw the muscle in his jaw flex. I slowly worked him over as his tone became clipped and short with Batman and he told him he had to go. He hit the end button on his phone and he carelessly tossed the phone onto the floor. He finally gasped out loud at the effect I was having on him and he moved over me and kissed me fully.

I was rendered completely useless after he made love to me twice over. Obviously we both were fine enough to do some more rigorous activity and this time we made sure to extra gentle with each other.

…

After waking up for the second time that morning I was surprised to see Clark wide-awake and unfortunately in clothes. He looked at me and his face split into a full on grin.

"How did you sleep?" He asked as he swept the hair back from my forehead.

"Wonderfully. Makes up for the sleep I lost last night. What was that call about with Batman? Am I allowed to ask these kinds of questions?" His hand stilled against my forehead, as he was lost in thought trying to figure out how to answer.

"Well yes you are allowed to ask, I'm just not sure how much I can tell you though. Batman wanted to let me know there was a mandatory meeting tonight about a space mission the Justice League has to go on soon." He said regretfully.

"Why do you sound like you're regretting telling me this?" I asked sadly, knowing what he was going to say next.

"Because I might be the one to go." He looked me in the eyes questioningly.

"What? You want my permission or something? Clark, I don't care that you have to leave. You were doing this well before I came along so don't let me stop you. I'm going to be sad that you're leaving me but I will make sure to welcome you home with open arms." I smiled at him and his eyes crinkled as he smiled back relieved. "I have a question though." He looked at me skeptically. "How do you be two people at once? Well I guess three people considering Kal-El." My voice trailed off.

"That's a good question and one I still haven't mastered the answer for. I have always been Kal-El but I had no idea that I was Kal-El until I was a teenager and my parents told me the truth. I have been more Superman than Clark Kent throughout my life." I frowned at that because I thought it was the other way around. He continued. "I have always protected people and saved them from disasters whenever I could. I have always been a freak compared to the rest of society; I knew I was never just a simple farm boy that grew up in Kansas. I have always been something different than that. I have always wanted to do more than what society demanded from me. Sure Clark Kent is a major part of my life too, he is the man that my parents raised and their values soon became Clark's but also Superman's. Clark Kent is more of my mask, something to hide behind. I never wanted my private life to be in the public and you know why. I didn't want people getting hurt because of me and so I hid behind the glasses, oversized clothes, and clumsy persona. Clark Kent makes it easier to blend in with society. I don't have to have as many worries as Clark Kent." He said thoughtfully.

"So do I love Clark Kent or Superman? This is where I'm going to get confused. What do I call you?" I asked sadly. I was never going to wrap my brain around this.

"Well I don't know you have to ask yourself that question. And when we're together in public call me Clark, when we're alone you can call me either Clark or Kal, it doesn't matter. You probably shouldn't call me Superman when we're alone that would be strange unless you're joking of course. And when we're with other heroes, it doesn't matter who, always call me Superman. Not everyone knows my identity so just call me that to be safe."

"Okay, so who do I love? I mean Clark was the one that I met first and he is probably the one that has a tight grip on my heart. But Superman I had fantasized about long before Clark came into the picture. There's just something about a hero in a uniform saying all the right words and being smoother than satin." I said dreamily and he laughed.

"I'm smoother than satin?" He asked through chuckles.

"Of course! Every girl knows that. You could probably talk every girl in Manhattan out of their clothes if you wanted to, even the ones that play for the other team. Plus that suit of yours does wonders for the eyes." I said cheekily.

"Wait was there other heroes that you fantasized about?" Was he jealous?

"No!" Lie. "I only had eyes for Big Blue!" Another lie, truth be told the Flash was pretty adorable as well but I was going to take that secret to the grave with me. But he could never compete with Superman. He cringed when he heard his nickname.

"What is it with you and those ridiculous nicknames?" He groaned.

"Because they're funny? However the Boy Scout one is a little ridiculous now if you ask me. I mean a boy scout would never have taken me like you did last night. Pretty sure you would get kicked out of the scouts forever. Maybe they would even put a scarlet A on your forehead." He laughed again and it was nice to see him laughing so much ever since my accident, which weirdly only happened two days ago. Clark laughing was the most wonderful sound I had ever heard, it was like the entire world fell off his shoulders and it was nice that I could ease the burden even if it was only for a few seconds.

"Excuse me? Pretty sure you were the one that was fondling me while I was attempting to talk to Batman about serious matters." He gave me a funny look.

"Anytime I can mess with you, I'm going to take and the fact that Batman was on the other line just made it that much more fun. Plus you know you enjoyed it and there was no harm done." He raised his eyebrows at that.

"They say Batman is the world's best detective and they say that for a reason. He definitely knew something was going on because he kept having to pull my attention back to him since I was so distracted." I laughed and he shot me a look and then smacked my rear. "Come on let's get up. I want to show you around." I wiggled my eyebrows at him and got up and his eyes blazed over my body as my naked form walked around to pick up his shirt to put on. "You're so lucky I'm too exhausted to take you back to bed. I will never get tired of seeing you bare and I will never get tired of feeling you bare against me."

"Woah there Casanova. You keep saying words like those and I will strip again just to hear more. You're right though I want to see where I am. Take me into your world! Or at least part of it." He took my hand and pulled me through the Fortress of Solitude.


End file.
